sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition

ghost barstairs: temporary hypotheses brings experimental furniture, sculpture, and plywood structures into a vacant concrete building in seoul, using its exposed frame to explore the possibilities of a space between demolition and renewal.

sukchulmok edited by christina vergopoulou October 12, 2026 4 min

GHOST BARSTAIRS explores traces left in an empty building in Seoul

Design studio Sukchulmok and artist Kangyeon Lee present GHOST BARSTAIRS: Temporary Hypotheses in a vacant reinforced-concrete building in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, shortly before its demolition is completed. With accumulated finishes removed, the building’s exposed structural frame becomes the setting for an exhibition exploring the space between its former use and an undefined future.

The title outlines three elements of the project: GHOST, referring to traces of what has disappeared; BAR, describing rigid lines that establish new structures and boundaries; and STAIRS, suggesting layers and movement through vertical space. Light entering the building from the basement to the rooftop illuminates the exposed frame, where Sukchulmok’s experimental furniture intersects with Lee’s sculptural works. Set within an unfinished spatial canvas, these installations serve as a ‘temporary hypothesis (假設),’ a moment caught in transience and a sculptural query cast into the realm of undefined potential.

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 1 — a wooden cylinder pierced by a steel cone composes Sukchulmok booth on the first floor | all images ©Hong Seokgyu

Timber and steel form new structures within the concrete shell

Studio Sukchulmok explores numerical proportions through the physical properties of stone, steel, and wood. On the first floor, a central booth combining semicircular timber and a steel cone anchors the space. Artist Kangyeon Lee draws on a past labor experience placing ham on pizza dough on a production line. He translates the resulting sense of alienation into works that evoke anonymous figures obscured by cycles of consumption and forgetting. Using materials such as metal and plastic, his sculptures introduce contrasting forms within the raw concrete structure.

A further spatial intervention by BRBB design practice occupies the basement, where plywood panels meet, curved, and leaned against one another to form self-supporting structures. These elements operate independently of conventional partitions or circulation routes, treating the arrangement of materials as a way to define space. Installed shortly before the building’s next phase, GHOST BARSTAIRS uses furniture, sculpture, and temporary structures to examine the possibilities of an unfinished architectural setting. The exhibition documents a brief interval in which the building’s former identity had receded and its future remained open.

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 2 — Sukchulmok booth anchors the first floor with a commanding, heavy presence

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 3 — artworks by Kangyeon Lee are placed within the Sukchulmok booth, transforming it into a ‘hacked’ installation

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 4 — drifting through the empty spaces of each floor, the light illuminates both the interior and exterior

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 5 — lighting elements resembling agglomerations of demolished debris sweep past Sukchulmok’s experimental furniture pieces

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 6 — Kangyeon Lee’s console, Chickens, summons anonymous entities obscured by cycles of consumption and oblivion

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 7 — Sukchulmok’s experimental furniture and Kangyeon Lee’s artworks intersect as if engaged in a dialogue

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 8 — furniture, sculpture, and temporary structures respond to the building’s unfinished condition

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 9 — Lee’s works evoke anonymous figures shaped by cycles of consumption

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 10 — BRBB’s structures lean, bend, and support one another, taking on forms that momentarily defy gravity

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 11 — traces remain where original walls once stood, carving out rectangular, three-dimensional volumes in the space

sculptures made of timber and steel occupy raw concrete shell in seoul before demolition - 12 — light penetrates through the fissures of the vacated building, signaling the beginning of this brief exhibition

ghost-barstairs-temporary-hypotheses-exhibition-seoul-sukchulmok-kangyeon-lee-brbb-designboom-1800-3 — the exhibition captures a temporary state before the building enters its next phase

project info:

name: GHOST BARSTAIRS: Temporary Hypotheses
architects: sukchulmok | @sukchulmok
artist: Kangyeon Lee | @gvngyeon

spatial intervention & installation: BRBB | @brbb_arch

location: Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

photographer: Hong Seokgyu | @seokgyuhong

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