Creating Irworobongdo, and a Place to Sit.

Arirang Dowon’s Irworobongdo (Sun, Moon and Five Peaks) installation is a scene viewed from a distance, with places beneath it to sit and linger up close.

Following construction site records and seating work documents, we look at how a large landscape becomes a space for people.

ATELIER SOW · Architecture · Interior Design · Construction · Spatial Identity

Arirang Dowon’s Irworobongdo installation, central water feature, counter and seating seen from the upper floor — Completed photograph. The Irworobongdo installation above, and the water, counter and seating below, occupy one landscape. Existing public project photograph.

Irworobongdo in a Painting Takes on the Scale of a Real Space.

Arirang Dowon began with the landscape of Irworobongdo (Sun, Moon and Five Peaks). When that image is brought indoors, Irworobongdo becomes an installation within the space rather than a picture hanging on a wall.

The construction record shows the Irworobongdo installation’s contours already formed, together with steelwork beneath it and unfinished surroundings. A scene seen with lighting and trees in the completed photographs can be read again through a view of the space while fabrication and installation work were in progress.

Rough surfaces and overlapping contours of the installed Irworobongdo beneath windows and steelwork during construction at Arirang Dowon — An actual construction record. The Irworobongdo installation’s form and surface and the steelwork below are visible. This photograph does not establish the complete fabrication sequence or internal support method of the installation.

Beneath the Landscape, Site Work Continues.

A striking installation does not complete the whole space. The floors and walls where people will walk and linger, and the boundaries between different areas, also take shape.

Another site photograph shows sections marked out in the floor, stones set in place, stacked materials and unfinished walls. Parts that recede into the background of the completed scene become visible during construction as work that shapes the relationships within the space.

Sections of floor, stones, stacked materials and unfinished walls during construction at Arirang Dowon — An actual construction record showing sections of floor, stones, materials and walls. The final use of a particular area, waterproofing or structural methods have not been established from the photograph alone. The order of the two site photographs does not indicate their shooting chronology.

Lighting Around a Seat Is Considered Before Fabrication Too.

The work guide addresses the places beneath the larger scene in smaller units. U-shaped built-in seating and lighting positions, the forms and divisions of platform seating, and curved tables were considered separately through drawings and models.

One item instructs that the lighting positions in the built-in seating should be confirmed before holes are made. Rather than leaving the seat and light as separate objects, this records a review of how they meet in one place to sit.

Built-in Seating and Lighting

Form and fabrication drawings for U-shaped built-in seating Seating and lighting positions marked together Instruction to confirm lighting positions before making holes Review of the relationship between the underside of the seating and light

Platforms and Curved Tables

Forms and divisions of platform seating Arrangement of different seating units A separately prepared curved-table model Work guidance organised into individual fabrication units

Seating-related items checked in a single 20-page work guide are summarised across these two cards. Original drawings, dimensions, title blocks and reference images are omitted. These are work review documents, not a claim that every proposal was built exactly as shown or that they are final as-built drawings.

Arirang Dowon’s U-shaped built-in seating, round tables, nearby lamps and light beneath the seats — Completed photograph. Built-in seating and tables, lighting close to people and light beneath the seats are visible. This does not mean that every detailed dimension in the work documents matches the built result.

A Scene Seen from Afar, and a Place to Linger Up Close.

In the completed Arirang Dowon, the Irworobongdo installation, water, planting, counter and seating occupy the same space. The view from the upper floor differs from the scene seen while seated below, yet both share one place.

Making a large installation and defining places where people can sit comfortably: neither alone completes this landscape. This is why we connect the planning that shapes the impression of a space, the design of the parts used every day and the work on site.