Jang Sung, Korea
Among the many wars in human history, more were the victors of the commander’s wisdom and the superiority of the soldiers’ mental powers than the numbers that fought the enemy with overwhelming weapons.
Established by ‘Baekyang-Sa’ Buddhist Temple, one of the largest temples in Korea, and donated to the ‘Sang Mu Dae’, one of the largest military units in Korea, this meditation center goes beyond religion and anyone visits for mental stability and healing of officers, soldiers, and their families.
This project was short-listed for a 2021 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The goal is to develop the ROK Army’s mental strength through a variety of programs that include meditation, yoga, reading, walking, listening music, and café with tea ceremonies. Visitors first encounter a tall, long concrete wall that blends with the beautiful Metasequoia tree.
The meaning of this magnificent wall exists as a message that requires solemn meditation on the words and karma that he has done so far, and is designed to have the expectation of the meditation center to be unfolded in the future.
It was designed to allow visitors to feel a sense of stability and intimacy little by little while walking through the hallway, which is arrayed by smooth curved paper tube pillars quietly from the entrance.
When soldiers arrive at the main meditation hall, he’ll encounter a beautiful pond and a panoramic garden spread out through a large glass. This pond, which projects the entire building, is a so called “reflection of life pond” that allows you to meditate on your past karma by looking at yourself.
Walking barefoot through a large garden surrounded by Metasequoia trees is one of the good meditation practices in Buddhism, where visitors can meditate in the meditation hall, followed by deeper conversations.
The overall design direction of the building is to emphasize the low, thin, and long horizontal lines so that visitors can rest their exhausted minds through inner peace, relief, and reflection. It is to hold the human mind that is running outside, to rest and heal.
Project: Sang Mu Dae Military Meditation Center
Architects: Han Kook Architects, KACI
Client: Sang Mu Dae
Contractor: Eldrim
Photographers: Jongoh Kim
