Germany-Korea Public Space Forum

Germany-Korea Public Space Forum

Deutschland-Korea Public Space Forum

 

KIM Sung Hong and Peter Cachola Schmal Eds.

 

Korean Organizing Committee for the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2005,
Deutsches Architektur Museum,
Stadt Frankfurt am Main

 

Foreword

 

In January 2005, I met with Dr. Klaus Klemp and Mr. Peter Cachola Schmalin Frankfurt to discuss a theme for the Germany-Korea Forum on architecture and urbanism. We all felt the need to have a collaborative platform for discussing contemporary urban conditions in Europe and East Asia, but soon realized that there are fundamental differences on the definition and nature of ‘the public’ and ‘public space’ in the two cultures today. Rather than seeing this as a problem, we took it as an opportunity to develop a comparative and cross-cultural discussion on the relationship between public space and daily urban life. The Germany-Korea Public Space Forum brings together eight theorists and architects from Korea and Germany to delve into the similarities and differences between the understanding and usage of public space within our two cultures.  

 

From the German side, Bart Lootsma examines changes in the perception of public space in globalized, mobilized, and networked environments. Meanwhile Muck Petzet, Nikolaus Hirsch,and Marie-Theres Deutsch present different possibilities for creating new public spaces through their respective design projects. From Korea, Kim Sung Hong gives an overview of public space in Korea through an examination of the inherent spatial logic in architecture and urbanism, and proposes a new socio-spatial paradigm for hyper-dense urban areas that support high Internet usage. Joo Dae Kahn is an architect and member of the Cholam Project Team for Architecture and Urbanism, an organization that builds houses in rural towns on a volunteer basis. He outlines a new role for architects in addressing urban problems in small towns brought on by rapid industrialization. Kim Jong Kyu, a design coordinator for the innovative HeyriArtVillage, examines the benefits of collective urban design guidelines in creating a new type of open space that strikes a balance between the public and private, and between man-made structures and the natural environment. Kim Kwang Soosearches for meaning in the unique socio-spatial nature of the bang, a traditional domestic space that has infiltrated the urban landscape of commercialized space in Korean cities.

 

We are indebted to the Korean Organizing Committee for theGuest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2005 (KOGAF) for contributing the publication cost of this catalogue and the travel and accommodation expenses for the Korean speakers. We would like to specifically direct our thanks to Kim U Chang (President of KOGAF), Hwang Chi Woo (General Director of KOGAF), and Chong Soonmin (Manager of the Program Team). We also thank Shin Myong Hoon and Yang Haegue in the Coordinating Office in Frankfurt for their continued support. This forum is supported by the City of Frankfurtand the Deutsches Architektur Museum (DAM), and our special thanks go out toDr. Klaus Klemp from the Frankfurt City Department for Science and Arts, and Ingeborg Flagge and Peter Cachola Schmal of the DAM, whose collective efforts have ensured the success of the forum. We would also like to note our gratitude to Richard Enos from Toronto and Rha Koeun from Seoul, who proofread the manuscripts written by the Korean presenters and improved them with many insightful suggestions and comments.

 

With the commendable participation of the people involved, I have great optimism that the Germany-Korea Public Space Forum will help to advance not only the nature of cooperation between our nations but also the role of architecture in our rapidly changing world.

 

Kim Sung Hong, Forum Organizer

 
Table of Contents

 

Foreword

Ingeborg Flagge, Peter Cachola Schmal, and Klaus Klemp

 

Foreword

Kim Sung Hong

 

Of Other Spaces, (re)vis(it)ed: All Heterotopias Melt into Air

Bart Lootsma

 

The Paradox of Public Space in the Asian Metropolis

Kim Sung Hong

 

Physikerquartier Leinefelde/Thuringia

Muck Petzet

 

The Architect and his Boundaries

Nikolaus Hirsch and David Adjaye

 

Mainlust - Enjoying the Main River’s Banks

Marie-Theres Deutsch

 

The Cholam Project: the Public Sphere of Architecture in an Age of Paradigm Shift

Joo Dae Kahn

 

Heyri Art Valley: The Emergence of an Architectural Design Guideline

Kim Jong Kyu

The Other Public Space: The Korean ‘-Bang’ Culture                                

Kim Kwang Soo