SUP — Silent Understory Path
- South Korea

2026
International Competition - Finalist
Competition ongoing

Developed for the international competition organised by the Daejeon Metropolitan City in South Korea for the city’s new Bomunsan Arboretum, the second arboretum in Daejeon, the project, one of the five finalists, proposes a woodland botanical park dedicated to preserving biodiversity and enhancing the natural resources of Mount Bomunsan. A new public and cultural space where nature, learning and architecture interact.
The studio’s proposal is entitled SUP – Silent Understory Path, taking its name from the Korean word sup (숲), meaning forest, and is inspired by the concept of Chagyeong, the traditional Korena principle of borrowing the landscape, according to which the architecture frames and welcomes the natural context rather than competing with it.
Following the topography of Mount Bomunsan, the project extends through a continuous network of pathways that respond to changes in height, vegetation, light and water. The Visitor Center is positioned towards the mountain, integrating with the natural terrain and establishing a discrete transition between the built environment and the forest. An internal courtyard and a sequence of steps guide the visitors towards the trails of the arboretum, initiating a journey of exploration and discovery.
Three distinct botanical environments – Temperate, Tropical and Special – complete the landscape composition, offering different climatic and botanical experiences as well as spaces given over to learning and contemplation. The intervention interprets the architecture as an integral part of the landscape, imagining a system in continuous evolution where, over time, the vegetation gradually envelops the structures, attenuating the distinction between the built and natural environments.