• Title/Summary/Keyword: Kim Soo Geun Architect

Search Result 1, Processing Time 0.018 seconds

A Critical Reading of Freedom Center Apacle by Architect Kim Su Geun (김수근의 자유센터에 대한 비평적 독해)

  • Khang, Hyuk
    • Journal of architectural history
    • /
    • v.21 no.1
    • /
    • pp.135-154
    • /
    • 2012
  • The goal of this paper is to analyze the Freedom Center Apacle in Seoul designed by Kin Soo Geun who was a leading architect in Korean Modern architecture. Freedom Center was built in 1963, that was the largest monumental building to support military regime during cold war period in Korea. This paper deals with historical background of construction of Freedom Center and its characteristics compared to similar monumental buildings, especially Corbusier's Chandigar and Kenzo Tange's Hiroshima Peace Center. The Monumentality in Freedom Center came from the reference to these two buildings and its site plan. This paper tried to show how similar the layout of buildings between the Freedom Center and Peace Center. The origin of the sublime aura in Tange's linear layout of Peace Center is from Japanese Famous Shrine(Jinku). Kim translated it to serve the ideological purpose to protect from socialist regime in the name of freedom. Its over-scaled roof and weak contents showed Freedom center was a kind of theaterical setting belong to formalist building. But in spite of its symbolic and representational gesture its also had a architectonic physical quality to make it a monument. The change and duration in time testified the autonomous power of architecture in Freedom Center. Freedom Center was also important for using the exposed concrete and its superior finish. It was influenced not from western way of Benton Brut which was usually called New Brutalism but Japanese way of treating expose concrete. In spite of its limits Freedom center achieved new trend and sensibility in Korean Modern Architecture.