From power generation to a 'fun palace'

Arts & Design

Published: 02 Mar. 2022, 15:03

From power generation to a 'fun palace'

Architect Cho Min-suk poses in front of a model for Danginri Culture Space he designed during a recent interview with the JoongAng Sunday. [KIM KYUNG-BIN]

The Danginri Culture Space, after going through a couple of rough patches, is set to begin renovations with the aim of opening its doors in 2024.

The project arose some 20 years ago in 2004 from then-Culture Minister Lee Chang-dong’s idea to transform the Seoul Power Station, commonly known as the Danginri Power Station, into a cultural complex.

Seoul Power Station was Korea’s first-ever thermoelectric power plant built in 1930 in Mapo District, western Seoul, which oversaw the electricity production of metropolitan areas in Seoul. The 4th and 5th units of the station, built in the 1970s, were shut down as power generation moved to underground, leaving the factories vacant.

However, it was difficult to see the large-scale culture project through as it involved the remodeling of a surface area of 81,650㎡, a floor plan of 27,366㎡ with two basement floors and a six-story building. Mapo District, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Midland Power Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding in 2012 but faced hardships acquiring the financial budget. The project lurched forward as after receiving 69.8 billion won ($57.9 million) of funding with the Arts Council Korea designated to oversee operations.

A model plan of Danginri Culture Space [SONG YOO-SEOP]

The aim of the project is urban redevelopment of an outmoded industrial facility, similar to Tate Modern Museum in London and Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Germany.

Danginri Culture Space was designed by architect Cho Minsuk of Mass Studies who won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. His proposal was chosen from 18 proposals during the “Danginri Podium and Promenade” competition. The purpose of the competition was to find the most adequate proposal which preserves modern industrial heritage while simultaneously celebrating local culture, arts and the ecosystem around the area.

Cho, who is busily preparing to break ground in the latter half of this year, told the JoongAng Sunday during a recent interview that seeing through this project is “the last opportunity for Han River Park to have a public facility.”

“The population of Seoul was merely 200,000 at the start of the 20th century which expanded to 10 million,” he said. “[The city] faced a lot of side effects as it swelled some 50 times its original size. The remnants of Danginri Power Plant was, in a way, one of such effects as the city slowed down on its development. The establishment of a culture space on the grounds will show that cultural and natural ecosystems are not merely established through capitalistic logic.”

The inner part of the 5th unit of Seoul Power Station [MASS STUDIES]

The 4th and 5th units of the station have remained empty since it closed down in 2017. Once the construction begins, the 5th unit will be preserved as a part of contemporary industrial heritage while the 4th unit will be demolished, except for its framework.

Cho plans to utilize the rooftop of the building to form three pedestrian paths connecting the culture space with the Hongdae area and Bamseom islet. A pavilion will be established on the rooftop which will be used as an observatory and to host exhibitions. A rooftop garden will also be created so that people can enjoy outdoor eating thanks to onsite food trucks. The space where boilers once were will be utilized for an urban agriculture program, while a swimming pool will be built in the parking lot area.

Inside the building, where machinery was once located, a culture space will be built so people can enjoy a variety of exhibitions and performances. Arts Council Korea hopes to create a creative space where each person can actively pursue and produce content instead of an artist-centered paradigm.

According to Cho, the culture space will be a “fun palace” building, a concept which was put forward by English architect Cedric Price in the 1960s.

“This romantic idea was formed by Price. He proposed that architecture should adapt to the changing society instead of sticking to its heavy and formal structure,” Cho said. “'Fun Palace’ is a space which contains fluctuating possibilities for the space to be filled with demands required by the new generation, like digital technology. It’s not a set place — it may be expanded or blocked accordingly — with the objective of planting inspiration for visitors.”

In terms of its operation, Cho said the space will be modeled after Le Centquatre in Paris, which is cultural center that was renovated from an old funeral parlor in 2008. The center aims to naturally blend artists and the public so that they can cooperate and inspire each other.

“For instance, if Sydney Opera House created art and performance through the conventional method [in a one-way communication in which artists provide their performance to audiences], now, art proliferates over a wide range of spectrum, which is why it is the creator’s vision to harmoniously establish the framework for such grounds,” Cho said. “I hope the culture space can be a place where all kinds of people can gather under one roof — whether it’s someone who comes in wearing slippers to cultivate their garden, or a dressy artist who comes in to give a unique and experimental performance. In this era of today and now, social media divides us rather than connects us together, and I hope this culture of connecting and sharing can be achieved through our architectural ideas. As Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) did with fashion, Danginri Culture Space strives to become momentum for culture and arts.”

Cho is behind a variety of buildings in Korea such as Space K museum in Magok, western Seoul, the Boutique Monaco building in Gangnam, southern Seoul, S-Trenue Tower in Yeouido, western Seoul, the Southcape Clubhouse golf resort in Namhae, South Gyeongsang and Daum Space.1 office on Jeju Island.

According to Cho however, his greatest challenge of all the projects he's worked on is Danginri Culture Space. His office were full of enormous models while yellow-colored floor plans of the 4th and 5th units of the former power station hung on his wall.

Space K museum in Magok, western Seoul [SHIN KYUNG-SEOP]

Daum Space.1 in Jeju Island [SHIN KYUNG-SEOP]

Golf resort Southcape Clubhouse in Namhae, South Gyeongsang [SHIN KYUNG-SEOP]

“[It’s difficult] because it’s all about discovering the possibilities,” he said. “The possibilities where everyone can gain something and interact with one another through this space. I have dubbed this concept as a ‘found fun palace,’ with an emphasis on the ‘found.’ It’s not an inventive project — it’s a discovery project. Prior projects used to start from nothing — from a blank sheet of white paper, but this project is challenging in the sense that I have to design the space based on the hand-drawn floor plan created 64 years ago and build the space based on the 60-year-old framework. It’s more archeology than architecture for me, I think. Its scale is daunting, but I believe it’s the kind of challenge that I could never ever come across in my life. I would be exhausted, sure, when it’s over, but right now I’m truly enjoying myself.”

His overarching philosophy when it comes to architecture is heterogeneity. Cho believes that the core problem of the city lies in its excessive and sudden expansion in the last century, leading to proliferation of homogenous space and ultimately, a monotonous society.

“During the last century, the city was full of spaces whose sole purpose lay in function and rationality,” he said. “'Hetrogeneity’ is a value system at the opposite end of that spectrum. Now, we are no longer a generation striving for growth and development. The young generation nowadays is different. They are discovering our nearly-forgotten values, like an alley we never knew was there. I don’t think it’s a matter of choosing one over another. Reality is much more complicated and the answers lie in the gray zone. I don’t want to lose hope or abandon the rational parts, but aim to carry the system and the heterogeneity simultaneously when I design architecture. I believe that is an architect’s role in this society.”

BY YOO JU-HYUN [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]