SUMMARY
This week, David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Juhee Lee-Hartford, Founder and Managing Partner of River Architects. The three discussed Juhee’s background, architecture education, the Fulbright program, Korean architecture history, blending modern thinking with traditional architecture, personal healing through Korean culture research, working in Korea, the Korean Architects exhibition, and more. Enjoy!
ABOUT JUHEE
Juhee Lee-Hartford, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, CPHC, LFA is the Founder and Managing Partner of River Architects, with over 30 years of experience designing progressive, sustainable facilities for public, commercial, educational, and residential clients.
Under her leadership, the firm is nationally recognized for its expertise in Passive Building standards and Net Zero design, earning honors from programs including the NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence competition, Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development competition, and the AIA New York State Excelsior Award. Juhee also serves as a consultant for the New York State Department of State Downtown Revitalization Initiative program, providing guidance on implementing carbon-reduction strategies.
Inspired by her Fulbright research on Korean architecture, Juhee champions a climate-responsive built environment that fosters cultural understanding, occupant well-being, and environmental regeneration. Building on these efforts, she is currently leading her team in integrating Living Buildings Challenge standards to the firm’s daily practice.
As the Director of Exhibitions at Korean Architects Association of New York, she is spearheading exhibitions on contemporary Korean architecture. Alongside her practice, Juhee is also writing a memoir on Korean residential architecture.
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Juhee's background.
(16:27) Architecture education.
(30:04) Fulbright program.
(41:37) Korean architecture history.
“Traditional [Korean] architecture made a great effort to strike a balance between man-made structures and nature, between indoor and outdoor spaces. That was really fascinating to me. Then we leap over the colonial period and into the war, with all its violence. I feel like that balance was completely thrown out because people were just trying to survive. Then, under the military dictatorship, there was a drive to transform Korea from a war-ravaged, destitute country into a modern society within one generation. This created a hyper-fast, "hurry, hurry" culture. So, in my mind, it's really jarring to go from traditional wooden homes with clay tiles to these massive 50-story apartment buildings. My book is about bridging that gap through personal stories.” (44:03)
(49:23) Blending modern thinking with traditional architecture.
“How do you translate the sweeping tiled roofs of Korean hanok into a modern architectural language? It's very challenging. What's fascinating is that architecture is a visual language. When you mix the minimalist lines of modern architecture with Asian materiality, it can often turn into Japandia. It's really hard to pull back from that, so it's an interesting design challenge. What's fascinating, though, is that when I look at more recent work coming out of South Korea, architects are definitely designing within a more universal modern architectural language, but they're also incorporating regional or site-specific needs, which naturally makes the work unique. I see a lot of bold architecture coming out of Korea, and I love the diversity we're seeing.” (53:20)
(58:45) Personal healing through Korean culture research.
(01:04:43) Working in Korea?.
(01:06:40) Korean Architects Exhibition.
“Does regionalism in modern architecture matter? Does cultural identity matter? This is something Koreans are grappling with right now. Does a specifically Korean voice in modern architecture matter, or do we simply design to a global standard and create something unique through our ideas? That's where we are right now.” (01:14:02)
“Modernism in architecture raises the question of whether every culture and country has to follow the same principles of modernist architecture. Maybe they do because the world is modernized. But what is their own definition of modern architecture, versus the generic, global definition? The internet and social media aren't really helping us find interesting answers when we're all playing on the same field. Which reminded me of your interview with Professor Ana Duran. The client rejected their work because it wasn't modern enough. That just made me so mad. They were trying to express regional sensitivity and a sensitivity to the environment, nature, and culture. I think that reaction was perhaps driven by ego.” (01:16:49)
(01:18:53) Favorite buildings.
