project : : Gijang Contemporary Art Museum : : Busan, South Korea : : 2016~ : : 3.300m² (constr) : : 66,000m² (site) : : 
program : : Art museum, Cafateria, Retail, Guest houses : : 
credits : : Javier Villar Ruiz Partner in Charge at KKAA (LEAD) (INT) : : Helen Kim / Johyun Gallery (CUR), Viabizzuno (LIG) : : 
synopsis : :Excited to work with the contrast between the contemporary aspects of such a museum and the bucolic character of this rural site, our challenge was how to properly integrate this over 3000m² structure into the small-scale organic configuration of the surrounding village, in opposition to the overwhelming new developments recently eroding the charm of the region. Breaking the mass of the building into small volumes allows the museum to integrate itself into the scale of the surrounding houses and farm sheds. With natural raw stone facades, avoiding the direct presence of architectural elements such as doors, windows, eaves... this new structure wants to appear as a fragment of the terraced fields' walls around this beautiful site. We hope in this way that the village can remain a village; that it can be a bucolic place with an exciting museum to discover, rather than a mere self-imposed museum, bothered by few nearby humble houses waiting to disappear : :