Woopo Library of Nature

Through Saemaeul Movement, Farm village is defined as an area got left behind in modern time. Concrete was put to in front of houses instead of dusty ground and zinc roof replaced thatched roof. Scenery of farm village has changed extensively. Since then, another event occurred to change the scenery of farm village. After agricultural market opening through Uruguay Round in 1993, government supplied Simple freight station of agriculture products. Between 1995 to 1997, more than 3000 of simple freight station was furnished. They placed in quite large scale between villages and fields and scenery with this facility became familiar. Even though it’s simple freight statin, it’s not that different to normal storage from outside because it doesn’t equipped cold storage facilities. Since the scale of agriculture and farm village are getting smaller, most of simple freight station was abandoned or didn’t lose its function.

70’s Modernization and 90’s Globalization put textures on the view of farm village such as sheet zinc, sandwich panel and concrete. Woopo Library of Nature is being constructed using ‘Simple freight station of agriculture products’ with white sandwich panel and blue zinc roof. This storage is one of 42 simple freight stations in Changnyeong Province. After agonizing about how we can adapt ‘environmentally friendly architecture’ with building owner who is a keeper of Woopo Wetland doing environmental movement and education, we decided that upcycle this storage that has no function for a long time is the proper way of designing library of ‘Nature’. We settle to reveal construction order remaining inside of this prefabricated storage outside. The frame of this storage that constructed in most efficient and functional way of construction is hidden by sandwich panel and can only seen from inside. We thought that functionality of this garage hidden by materials can make natural shape of external by remodeling with proper size of structure module using this. Among 6 modules composing this storage, use one and a half module for library and place courtyard on the both side of it. Left 3 modules are remained as original storage. In the exhibition, we wanted to show the way how iron structure of this simply constructed storage is being constructed into newly interpreted space. We exhibit 1:20 scales of model and simple freight station of agricultural products model together to make it possible to experience the possibility of abandoned storage that became common figure of farm village.