The way of a Taoist Hermit
Most observatories are towers rising from the ground, because they are faithful only to this purpose of ‘looking down’.
Shinsun-gil, on the other hand, is an observatory focused on the process of ‘climbing’. It is not a ‘destination’ in itself, but a ‘way’ to ascend to the sky.
Shinsun-gil is located in Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do Province, in a pine forest overlooking the West Sea. Buan-gun is the area where one can see both sunrise and sunset, and is also particularly famous for its fog.
The observation deck at this special location consists of 111 iron columns with a pine forest motif and more than a hundred triangular gratings. The path, made by connecting the gratings, is gradually increased as it passes between the columns to form a triangular-shaped viewpoint consisting of 16 gratings at a height of 7.65m above the ground.
The vertices of the viewpoint indicate towards the sunrise and sunset points of the compass, and the bottom, respectively. The true hero of this observatory is the sun.
In the morning, the observation deck is surrounded by dense cloud and mist, creating a moody landscape. We envisage a hermit walking across this remote landscape. Hence the name of this observatory is ‘The Way of a Taoist Hermit’.
Project: Shinsun-gil / Location: 365-1, Dae-ri, Wido-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea / Architects: Seo Hyun (Seoul Nat’l Univ.) + Sosu Architects (SeokHong Go, MiHee Kim) / Use: observatory / Site area: 648m² / Height: 9m / Photograph: Courtesy of the architect
