New hanok-inspired exhibition space to open in Bukchon

Futura Seoul / Courtesy of Futura Seoul

A new exhibition space, inspired by the atmosphere of "hanok," or traditional Korean homes, is set to open in Seoul's Bukchon Hanok Village this September, in time for the citywide Frieze Week cultural festival.

Futura Seoul, slated for a Sept. 5 opening, is a three-story building nestled in a neighborhood that once housed the nobility of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom.

The structure is designed to provide a sense of serenity to visitors, "as if taking a seat on the 'daecheongmaru' (main wooden floor) under the eaves of a hanok," according to the venue.

Designed by Baek Jong-hwan of the Seoul-based architectural studio WGNB, the building features exhibition areas on the first and second floors with skylights and a ceiling height of 10.8 meters, along with a rooftop garden on the top floor.

Futura Seoul / Courtesy of Futura Seoul

The inaugural exhibition will spotlight Refik Anadol with the largest solo show of the new media artist and technologist in Asia.

In 2022, the Turkish American artist gained recognition for his 7.5-meter-tall LED installation, "Unsupervised," at MoMA in New York, where he employed artificial intelligence to interpret the museum's 200-year art collection into spectacular 3D swirling abstractions.

"Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive" at Futura Seoul will showcase a series of multisensory installations produced using his studio's The Large Nature Model — the world's first open-source generative AI model dedicated to environmental nature.