UNStudio and South Korean design firm DA Group have been selected to design the Chungnam Art Museum in Naepo, South Korea. The proposal will provide an immersive cultural experience, with a strong focus on the interaction between art and the public. In addition to creating an assemblage of technology and art, the project will serve as a social anchor for the local community, a space defined by notions of flexibility and “art for all”.
“Art has the power to bring people together. It inspires, it teaches, and it fosters communities. The Chungnam Art Museum will be a place for people to experience this and much more,” says UNStudio co-founder Ben van Berkel. The architecture of the Chungnam Art Museum, described by the design team as a "smart art museum", will provide the spatial framework for new forms of interactive engagement between art and the users, fostering both physical and digital experiences.
The two defining gestures of the design are the central courtyard and the Cultural Boulevard. The latter is a wayfinding element that blends indoor and outdoor spaces, linking different functions on the site and weaving the main access routes through the museum building and into the central courtyard. This path also connects the new structure with the Arts Centre and the Library, creating a continuous arts and culture experience.
Within the winning design team, Squint/Opera will be in charge of digital content and exhibition design, while Loos van Vliet will provide the landscape concept. UNStudio won the competition against offices like BIG, Steven Holl, Snøhetta, Grafton Architects or SsD + ALA.
- Design Partners: UNStudio and DA Group
- Digital Content and Exhibition Design: Squint/Opera
- Landscape design: Loos van Vliet
- Community Content: UNSense
- UNStudio Team: Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber with Sontaya Bluangtook, Marc Salemink and Heeyoun Kim, Hyoseon Park, Alba Pelaez, Andrii Kniaz
- Visualisations: Bloomimages
