choi joon woo reinterprets a traditional korean tile in his latest furniture series

furniture design student choi joon woo reinterprets traditional korean architecture through his latest collection titled ‘giwa’. looking closely at his design pieces, the arched black frames are a reinterpreted image of giwa – a traditional korean tile – which is integrated seamlessly into the wooden framework of each object. 

giwa sabangtakja’s leg detail

choi joon woo has combined the giwa motif with seven major korean traditional furniture: sabangtakja (open four-sided shelf), yeonsang (stackable tables), gobi (letter rack), jwadeung (lampstand), bandaji (clothes chest with a hinged front flap), soban (small dining table), and chotdae (candlestand).during the joseon dynasty, these were all placed in the sarangbang (guest rooms)  – but today, they are regenerated as contemporary pieces of furniture for people to use them in their daily lives. ‘its arched frames and traditional furniture proportions naturally create a contemporary furniture structure which organically harmonizes with today’s living space and interacts with its users’, states the designer. 

giwa bandaji (clothes chest with a hinged front flap), giwa gobi (letter rack) , giwa jwadeung (lampstand)

giwa jwadeung  -the arched frames on all four sides give out light subtly and delicately through the gaps

giwa bandaji – the arched frames were applied to the foreside of bandaji

giwa bandaji’s grib detail

giwa gobi-the arched frames were applied to the foreside of gobi

giwa gobi’s arched frames detail

giwa soban (small dining table), giwa chotdae (candle-stand)

giwa yeonsang – the tables can be used as a two-layer shelf when stacked or a larger table when placed side by side

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom