The Paper Architecture for A Korean Reunification

This article is part of the Hidden Architecture Series “Attitude”, where we explore current works by contemporain architectes which, despite its differences regarding cultural or phisychal contexts, share a practical attention towards the social value of Architecture as a public structure. Este artículo forma parte de la serie “Attitude”, comisariada por Hidden Architecture, donde exploramos la producción actual de arquitectos contemporáneos que, a pesar de las diferencias manifiestas de contexto físico o cultural, comparten una atención práctica hacia el valor social de la arquitectura como estructura pública. We wanted to feature the project The Paper Architecture for A Korean Reunification by Sarah Smith where she proposes a fantastical and visionary narrative about the potential reunification of North and South Korea. Sarah Smith depicts the imaginary world of a female architect living in the demilitarized zone using her unique drawing skills to present a parallel. Nos gustaría presentar el proyecto El Papel de la Arquitectura para la Reunificación de Corea de la arquitecta Sarah Smith donde propone una narrativa fantástica y visionaria de una posible reunificación de Corea del Norte y Corea del Sur. Sarah Smith muestra el mundo imaginario de una mujer arquitecta que vive en la zona desmilitarizada mediante unos dibujos únicos que muestran una realidad paralela. The project operates within the genre of ‘paper architecture’ to speculate on the potential reunification of North and South Korea. The narrative develops a fantastical and visionary scenario for what could happen if North and South Korea were to unify. It addresses issues of longing, loss, landscape and the politically charged local and international issues surrounding the issue of a divided Korea. The drawings in this series depict a narrative of an exiled architect living within the de-militarized zone, which is a strip of land on the peninsular between North and South Korea.