Dosan Park Complex Building Design Competition

“Like this island-mountain standing firm amid the boundless sea, I will become a small island of hope for my homeland.” — Dosan Ahn Chang-ho

For more than fifty years since its establishment, Dosan Park has continued to commemorate the spirit and legacy of Dosan. Today, the surrounding area has evolved into a vibrant district where fashion, youth, and culture converge. The reconstructed Dosan Ahn Chang-ho Memorial Complex should therefore be more than an isolated memorial. Combined with programs needed by the neighborhood, it should connect with the community, coexist with the everyday life of the city, and renew an awareness of Dosan’s ideals. Behind the vibrant Dosan-daero, we sought to reinterpret in contemporary architectural form the “island-mountain” that Dosan envisioned as a symbol of hope. Through this architecture, visitors can freely wander through and look upon both the sea of trees and the architectural island-mountain, encountering Dosan and his spirit anew.

Dosan-daero 45-gil, leading from Dosan-daero toward Dosan Park, forms an axis extending to Dosan’s grave. Entering the half-century-old park along this path is like walking from contemporary Korea into the history of the colonial era. The Dosan Memorial Hall stands beside this historical axis near the entrance to the park, slightly set aside from it. The level difference along the park boundary, the retaining wall of the existing memorial hall, and the parking areas surrounding the park have made the site an island within the city. The new Dosan Park Complex retains the existing location of the memorial hall while extending horizontally toward the park entrance. Together with the horizon formed by the treetops, this elongated composition creates a symbolic horizontal axis that appears to float upon a sea of trees. The three-dimensional intersection of these two axes defines the entrance to the historic park, while the mass of the complex rising above the horizontal axis symbolizes the island and mountain of hope envisioned by the young Ahn Chang-ho.

Dosan Park and the memorial hall should provide an immersive encounter with Dosan’s spirit. Beyond the permanent exhibition, traces of his legacy are found throughout the park—in his grave, statue, words, and other memorial elements. The exhibition can begin with the permanent collection, expand into special exhibitions in the multipurpose hall, and extend further into the Dosan Courtyard to the north of the memorial hall. Along the northern side of the exhibition space is Dosan Gallery, an approximately 40-meter-long gallery connecting the main and secondary entrances. Through the ambiguous boundary created by a transparent façade opening toward the park, the forest and Dosan’s historical achievements come together. On the way to the second-floor library, visitors encounter views through the north-facing windows, outdoor terrace, and bridge: the horizon of the trees, the figure of Dosan rising above them, and his final resting place. Through this layered spatial experience, visitors encounter Dosan’s spirit in three dimensions.