echo
"Echo," an installation by Bureau de Change architects is currently on view at Songhyeon Green Plaza in Seoul as part of the 5th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism. Invited by Biennale Director Thomas Heatherwick, alongside Arup, Hawkins Brown, Stella McCartney, Ozwald Boateng and Stephen Webster from the UK and 18 other designers and architects from all over the world including Kengo Kuma, Francis Kerre, Mad and Hyundai, the installation opened on September 26, 2025, and will remain on display until November 18. Responding to the curatorial theme "Radically More Human," the wall tells a story of craft, culture and continuity.
It draws inspiration from Korean hanok houses and the artisanal techniques of Jewajang (Roof Tile Making), Beonwajang (Tile Roofing), and Daemokjang (Traditional Wooden Architecture), to create a contemporary design formed of multiple, layered elements.
The surface echoes the interlocking intricacy of timber joinery, and the rhythmic layering of traditional clay tiles found in ancient Korean roofs. Elements are repeated horizontally and vertically, stepped and overlapped to create a play of light and shadow, inspired by the precise, lattice-like geometry of woven bamboo screens in Yeomjang.
Reclaimed clay roof tiles, sourced from demolished hanok buildings, are crushed and blended into the concrete mix, giving the surface not only a material authenticity but also a chromatic variation that shifts across the façade.
The wall tries to reimagine what a facade can be by bringing to life forms inspired by local traditional crafts, constructed with modern materials and building techniques.
It’s an echo of times past, reverberating softly with ideas for tomorrow..
