© Mancuso e Serena Architetti Associati. Courtesy of ARKO Arts Archive, Arts Council Korea.
“Between paths, between houses, between trees,
layering the future upon the past, merging it with
the present to create newness.”
— Kim Seok Chul, sketch notes for the design of
the Korean Pavilion, estimated early 1990s
The Korean Pavilion at La Biennale is the product of
a collaboration of the late Korean architect Kim
Seok Chul and Italian architect Franco Mancuso. It
is currently the last of the 26 national pavilions
built in the Giardini, overcoming nearly impossible
site constraints at the time of its construction.
The pavilion, an extension of a historic brick
building within the Giardini, is an irregular
steel-framed glass structure that does not resemble
a typical exhibition hall. The Korean Pavilion, with
its distinctive features—transparent body,
free-flowing curves instead of rigid lines, and a
foundation that appears to float lightly above the
ground—significantly diverges from conventional
white cubes. For this reason, artists and curators
have described the pavilion as resembling a “living
room of a house” rather than a standard exhibition
space.
The distinctive form and layout of the Korean Pavilion resulted from strict guidelines that not a single tree on the site be harmed and that the natural terrain remain unaltered during construction. The agreement with the City of Venice that the pavilion would be operated as a permanently open public space for Venetian citizens served as another basis for the architectural design. Considering Venice is a city built atop foundations made of wooden piles, trees are not merely design constraints but a reflection of the city’s survival history. The architecture of the Korean Pavilion, completed with respect for the trees and the land, embodies architectural values of transparency, lightness, and mobility—qualities often associated with the future of architecture itself.
Many of these hidden stories surrounding the pavilion’s design have come to light through the donation of archival materials by Franco Mancuso to the Korean government in 2023. This rediscovery has sparked renewed discussions about the Korean Pavilion, which had long been undervalued as an exhibition space by curators and artists alike. The motif of the “tree” has become a medium that overlays the history of the city with the future of architecture, as well as a key unfolding thread for Little Toad, Little Toad: Unbuilding Pavilion.
The distinctive form and layout of the Korean Pavilion resulted from strict guidelines that not a single tree on the site be harmed and that the natural terrain remain unaltered during construction. The agreement with the City of Venice that the pavilion would be operated as a permanently open public space for Venetian citizens served as another basis for the architectural design. Considering Venice is a city built atop foundations made of wooden piles, trees are not merely design constraints but a reflection of the city’s survival history. The architecture of the Korean Pavilion, completed with respect for the trees and the land, embodies architectural values of transparency, lightness, and mobility—qualities often associated with the future of architecture itself.
Many of these hidden stories surrounding the pavilion’s design have come to light through the donation of archival materials by Franco Mancuso to the Korean government in 2023. This rediscovery has sparked renewed discussions about the Korean Pavilion, which had long been undervalued as an exhibition space by curators and artists alike. The motif of the “tree” has become a medium that overlays the history of the city with the future of architecture, as well as a key unfolding thread for Little Toad, Little Toad: Unbuilding Pavilion.