Whanki Museum: Kyu Sung Woo (Single Building)

New from Rockport Publishers. the volumes in the Single Building series are destined to be highly collectible books. Each focuses on a single important contemporary building, selected for its unique character, innovative design, or technical genius. Buildings of varying types and sizes are included, from small residences to expansive museums, with the evolution of the design and construction process thoroughly documented from initial concept to finished building. Photographs, sketches, drawings, and details are supplemented in each book with an essay by the architect on the design process, and an essay by an architectural critic on the project's significance. Fold-out flaps on the front and back covers include reference sit and floor plans, with the vantage point of every photograph in the book indicated. Unfolded, these convenient plans provide instant orientation for every image, eliminating the need to flip pages back and forth between plans and photographs.

The Whanki Museum, built in 1992, commemorates and houses the works of Kim Whanki, a painter and pioneer of modern art in Korea. With its combination of lyricism and logic, its evocation of nature and its meticulous construction of order, the museum gracefully embodies the spirit of the painter. At the same time, it represents the quintessence of Woo's architecture. There are no loud messages or gestures in this structure, nor are there any facades or skylines produced for the camera's benefit. The Whanki Museum is not a structure of visual completion, but a place of consummate personal experience. Like Whanki's paintings, Woo's Whanki Museum is a quiet yet self-assured jewel.