LIFE IN THE MACHINE — ARCHITECTURE, HERITAGE AND THE METROPOLIS

Architecture and Heritage: Unearthing Future brings together Korean cultural heritage and contemporary architecture. The exhibition, held by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Seoul, is staged in the space of the prestigious Deoksugung Palace, and introduces works by five international architects architects: Space Popular, CL3, Bureau Spectacular, OBBA, and Obra Architects. The essay is a wide reflection on the role of urban culture in architecture, seen as the necessary framework to understand the notion of heritage. It starts from the occasion of the exhibition – the centennial of Emperor Gojong’s passing and the March First Independence Movement – reflecting on the interpretation of the Korean Empire’s dream for future city at the beginning of modernism. In this context Korean specificity is critically investigated as a bridge form western and eastern culture under the frame of urbanity seen as a bridge form past, present and future. Finally, the essay esamines how six international architects, all active in Asia – the region that shared the turbulent times of open ports and modernization – staged their installations against Korea’s living cultural heritage.