Mullae-dong_ 0.4 composition public to private overlaps

Public and private spaces overlap in time dependent cycles. The normally public street is of limited weekday accessibility, as the local nature of industrial function preside. The streets are defined by material edges; steel plate ground cover, overhead hoist extensions with taught covers of makeshift configurations define an ambiguous difference between public and private. 

Images courtesy of Jang Jiyoung (student works)

Mullae-dong_ 0.3 composition private

Mullae-dong is made private by material devises and covers. Wrapped spaces are common sights in the village. Plastic 'tarpoline' makes separation possible; that between what is public and what is private. The pliable material is readily moved or adapted for variations in cover as needed daily. 

Industrial space is demarcated by hoist structures that define a working edge during weekday and open shop times. Steelwork spaces recede deep into obscurity. Shadowed by limited light or that which is only necessary perform daily operational functions. It is an economy of means in the village for both Industry and artist.

Mullae-dong_ 0.2 composition public

Mullae from adjacent commercial building

Bound by a working man's edge, the definition between new and old, public and private is sharply defined. Mullae-dong is a fortified boundary of tinged air, rust stained streets, and unlikely stacked programs. Public space has been displaced to fringe times and locations; roof tops, voided gaps between buildings, and weekend only streets.

Grey hatch denotes appurtenant steel frame structures attached to primary concrete buildings. These secondary structures provide necessary spatial extensions for steel shop operation and as well, contribute to the structural integrity of the aging industrial buildings. 

  

Northern edge of the industrial artist village adjacent to new residential towers. A divergent contrast in lifestyle. Public access remains confined to limited street locations. 

Void diagram: public fill-ins

Rooftop diagram: elevated public

Diagrams appear courtesy of students Felix Hartz and Frank Herzog.

Displaced 'public' to roof tops and voided gaps between buildings have become common spaces for artist activity; event, display/ exhibit and gathering. 

Weekend and evening time 'afterhours' allow Mullae streets to become stage space for public performance and improvisational event to the needs of local artists.

Mullae-dong_ 0.1 historical timeline

Industrialization in Seoul took root at the turn of the 20th century during the Japanese Colonial occupation of the country. Mullae-dong through the late 1940's was a place of textile manufacturing and production. After this the absolving from Japanese rule in the 1950's and ensuing Korean war transformed Mullae-dong into a place of military encampment, production and support. The return to industrial output in the 1960's through the 1980's brought about steel industrial production, still in the area today, although in decline. The footprint of industry has shrunk and new development has bound tightly a limited boundary of what is now a compact area of industry combined with artist studios.

1960- present Mullae historical timeline

1900- 1950 Mullae historical timeline: Images appear courtesy of JungWook Kim

Mullae-dong projects_ points of contact

The exodus of steel industry to the perimeter of Seoul has left vacant building and urban space within Mullae-dongs industrial city-scape. Once a center of metal industry, production and craft, in recent years has survived a severe decline of related services, opening spatial opportunity for artists of various background. Since the turn of the 21st century, Mullae-dong has become a regenerative urban center for artists who have formed a loosely defined 'village' now gaining cohesive and cultural recognition. 

Presently there are about 60 independent artist studios now operating within Mullae's industrial neighborhoods. Largely camouflaged amongst the lackluster and ailing concrete structures of Mullae, the studios exist separate from industry. They remain suspended in a symbiotic and figurative equilibrium as the disappearance of industry would certainly bring an end to the neighborhoods existence. It is a fragile balance to be certain, teetering on the edge of extinction with the cities plan to redevelop the area.