Italian Architect Sees Potential for Architectural Experiments in Korea
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Have you ever heard the criticism that buildings are sprouting up so fast and at the same time being demolished so easily in Korea?
Tommaso Valle, 75, an Italian architect, doesn't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Instead, he views Korea as a new opportunity where he can experiment.
"In Rome, you can't imagine doing what (Korea) did with Cheonggye Stream or Incheon Song-do," the architect told The Korea Times, Tuesday, with a flinch of envy, sitting in the back of his exhibition booth at the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, Seoul.
He is one of the guest architects at the Seoul Design Olympiad 2009 that will run until Oct. 29. At the design fair, he brought and exhibited 15 architectural models, some of which were turned into real buildings. He had his 50th anniversary exhibition in 2007 in Rome.
Valle said architectural experiments in his country are difficult; it is home to nearly 80 percent of the world's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, according to Italy's ambassador to Korea. Valle said restoring a stream in the middle of the city or erecting a new city is out of the question.
While Valle is not totally against efforts to preserve history in Italy, he agrees that tradition should coexist with modernity, and that modern architectural technologies and materials allow for new interpretations of classical architecture.
"In modern architecture, it's important that you graft modern technology onto tradition," he said.
In 2001, he won a project and constructed a new building and glass structure near the Altar of Augustan Peace in Rome. His focus was to add flavor to the existing structures, he said.
One of his early projects in the 1950s was to build a monument for the victims of Auschwitz, in Birkenau, Poland. He had to focus on keeping the remnants of the burned-down gas chambers while reviving the feelings of horror and grief.
One of his recent projects was the Council of the European Union building in Brussels, Belgium. The architect had to insert the spirit of a united Europe.
To accomplish this, he placed a small egg-shaped structure ― a symbol of a united Europe ― inside the modern glass building. The outside structure is covered with glass collected from every single member state, a symbol of each country's identity, he said.
Valle returns to Italy, Friday, and said he is willing to participate in Korean projects in the future.