urban society transforms a waste incinerator with tiles bearing the breath of local residents

architecture studio urban society transforms a waste incinerator in doksan, geumchon, seoul, into a public art project using the breath of members from the nearby doosan elementary school and other local residents. titled ‘breath marks’, the project covers the entire structure with 3,000 15 x 15 cm handmade tiles, where each one visualizes the shape of a person’s breath.

all images courtesy of urban society

urban society has revived the waste incinerator, which was built in the 1980s and was used as a warehouse space since the 1990s, and reconstructed it into a warm and inviting public spot for the surrounding neighborhood. by gathering the breath of locals, the studio and artist sun choi have managed to form a community space and symbolic landmark for the area. the hand-painted tiles cover the entire exterior and most of the interior, while the rest of the structure is painted a blue similar to the tone used for the breath patterns. the goal of the proposal is to provide a safe and clean environment for students, parents, and local residents, creating a cultural space which the school and the community can both share.

the tiles were produced by artist sun choi as an extention of the butterfly project

the tiles visualize the shape of the breath by blowing paint on a canvas

the incinerator was transformed after a survey of what locals wanted it to be turned into

the flooring around it symbolizes the area works as part of the public space

the structure is covered in 3,000 15 x 15 cm handmade tiles

a total of about 800 breaths were gathered from school students, teachers, parents, and local residents

the waste incinerator before the transformation