Seoul exhibition puts Korean architect Minsuk Cho in the spotlight
An exhibition at the Plateau gallery in Seoul documents the career of Mass Studies founder Minsuk Cho, the architect behind the Golden Lion-winning Korean pavilion at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale (+ slideshow).
![Before / After Mass Studies by Minsuk Cho](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Before-After-Mass-Studies-by-Minsuk-Cho_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
Cho founded Mass Studies in 2003, following periods working at OMA in Rotterdam and Polshek and Partners in New York, and having already spent five years co-running a New York firm with former partner James Slade.
The exhibition, Before/After Mass Studies Does Architecture, offers an overview of the Korean architect's projects since then, from his headquarters building for internet company Daum to a steel-clad art centre in Songwon and the alphabet-themed Korea Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010.
![Before / After Mass Studies by Minsuk Cho](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Before-After-Mass-Studies-by-Minsuk-Cho_dezeen_468_2.jpg)
The main bulk of the exhibition is divided up into two rooms, categorised as the "before" and "after" of Cho's architecture. The first is dedicated to the design process, while the second concentrates on the final presentation of buildings.
![Before / After Mass Studies by Minsuk Cho](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Before-After-Mass-Studies-by-Minsuk-Cho_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
Highlights include the Ring Dome, a pavilion first erected on a New York traffic island, which has since travelled to Japan and Italy. Made up of rings of light, it frames a small events area.
![Before / After Mass Studies by Minsuk Cho](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Before-After-Mass-Studies-by-Minsuk-Cho_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
The show also includes an array of scale models, drawings and photographic collages, depicting projects that encompass the Southcape golf clubhouse, the O'Sulloc Tea Museum pavilions and the grey-brick Pixel House.
![Before / After Mass Studies by Minsuk Cho](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Before-After-Mass-Studies-by-Minsuk-Cho_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
The exhibition continues until 1 February 2015 at Plateau – part of the Samsung Museum of Art.
Photography is by Kyungsub Shin, except where otherwise specified.