Hospice - Home for the Terminally ill #5 competition Honorable mention winners - Hongik University

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winners of our Hospice - Home for the Terminally ill #5 competition – Gubeom Chung and Eunyoung Lee from South Korea!

Gubeom Chung and Eunyoung Lee

Please tell us about your company (when it was founded, where it is based, how many employees, etc) Alternatively, if you do not have a company, please give us some insights on your own professional/academia background.

We are currently graduate students in the Departments of Architecture and Interior Architecture at Hongik University in South Korea.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been Involved?

We prefer projects at a scale we can fully focus on, such as the three- or four-story buildings often found in local neighborhoods. We favor architecture that acts as a backdrop. Because of the modern materials used, it might stand out at first glance, but it soon fades naturally into its surroundings. We like projects that take basic architectural elements—such as roofs, pillars, windows, and walls—and use them as the main theme. Rather than relying on many descriptive modifiers, a single, honest element that ties everything together is often what truly moves people. Although this is our first time working together on a project, we plan to continue collaborating based on our shared interests.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

To us, architecture is an everyday presence that has the collective power to bring individual elements together. To us, architecture is already all around us. Everything already exists. Discovering these things—and helping others notice them—is an important part of the process. Creating the framework that allows this to happen can be said to be the role of an architect in our society. This is the kind of architecture we pursue.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in competitions to try out and deeply rethink the ideas we assert and often reflect on.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

If you get the chance to team up with someone, I definitely recommend going for it together.