SAMOO Architecture PC, the New York studio of SAMOO Architects and Engineers based in Seoul, Korea, announced today that it has won an international competition for the design of The New York Korea Center, a new home for the Korean Cultural Service in New York. The eight-story, 33,000 square foot facility will offer spaces for exhibitions, performances, lectures, and administration. Korea House will be located on East 32nd Street, extending the vibrancy of Manhattan’s Korea Town to the Murray Hill neighborhood.



Layered behind the glass façade, an open frame will provide a canvas for display panels that convey a changing visual message to the passers-by. This dynamic architectural composition creates a welcoming space for the community.  The street level of Korea Center, for example, will focus on exhibits related to current popular trends in Korean culture, including music, movies, food, technology and TV dramas – a phenomenon known as the “Korean Wave.”  Visitors can also enjoy a library, café, and gardens, as well as performances in a 240-seat theater.

SAMOO Architecture PC




New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri and President of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Anthony Schirripa today unveiled a new design for sidewalk sheds - the wood and steel structures built to protect pedestrians walking alongside buildings under construction. The design of the City’s sidewalk sheds has remained primarily unchanged since the 1950s and the new design will improve quality of life, reduce construction impacts on businesses, increase pedestrian safety and increase available space for pedestrians on sidewalks.



An international competition - the  “urbanSHED International Design Competition”         
- was held to challenge the design community to create a new standard of sidewalk shed. The competition winner, “Urban Umbrella,” was developed by Young-Hwan Choi, a 28-year-old student from the University of Pennsylvania.

UrbanSHED International Design Competition


Air Forest is a temporary public pavilion installed in City Park, Denver, Colorado, USA, for Dialog:City, an arts and cultural event during the Democratic National Convention 2008.




Air Forest is a 56.3m long, 25m wide pneumatic structure, composed of 9 hexagonal canopy units, at 4m height. These units are interconnected as one large piece of fabric, which are then inflated from the 14 blowers that are located at the base inside its 35 columns. These columns are 5m apart, and are weighed down by dirt and lighting elements which are also inside the columns, which light up at night and provide a public space after dark as well. 6 each of these pneumatic columns form a unit as they are connected in a hexagonal manner creating a circular opening from their inside perimeter.


Out of the 9 total hexagonal units formed, 3 of them are left open-air while the remaining 6 have vortex-shaped meshes that hang from them, providing shades for the public from the harsh sunlight. The nylon fabric is coated with a gradient of silver dots, whose reflective surface mimics the colors of its surrounding environment, as well as providing a playful dotted shadow on the people under the structure.

Mass Studies







ⓒ copyrights 2003-2018 Designersparty, all rights reserved. all material published remains the exclusive copyright of Designersparty.