Scaffold Episode 106: Minsuk Cho

The Korean architect and designer of this year's Serpentine Pavilion on the web of influences behind his work.

Episode 106 of Scaffold features a conversation with Minsuk Cho, recorded on site at this year's Serpentine Pavilion on Sunday 20 June 2024.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Cho studied architecture both in Korea and New York, at Columbia University, before working in various firms, including OMA in Rotterdam. He started Cho Slade Architecture in 1998 in New York City with partner James Slade and in 2003 returned to Korea to open his own firm, Mass Studies.

The work of Mass Studies, most of which has been built in Seoul, spans an array of building types, from pavilions and temples to  a golf club, a high-rise tower, a cinematheque and, most recently, the transformation of an energy plant into a new cultural space. Internationally he’s perhaps best recognised for designing the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo and for co-curating the 2014 Korean Pavilion at Venice biennale, which explored architecture of north and south korea speculating on the unification of the two regions.

Cho’s Serpentine scheme, called Archipelagic Void, draws from Korean culture, foregrounding a central space he describes as a madang, typical to traditional Korean homes. Radiating from this void are five volumes with different programmes and proportions. The project functions as an optimistic spatial metaphor, suggesting more diverse, yet more connected and cosmopolitan forms of public life.

 

Scaffold is a podcast series featuring interviews with architects, artists and designers. Hosted by Matthew Blunderfield and produced by the Architecture Foundation, it is available on Apple PocastsSpotify, and most major podcast streaming platforms.

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