WONJU, SOUTH KOREA ¨C Perched high in the mountains of Wonju, South Korea, Museum SAN is a choreographed journey of art and architecture. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the museum ¡ª its name an acronym for ¡°space, art and nature¡± ¡ª is an evolving collaboration that continues to unfold more than a decade after its opening.
Conceived with the museum¡¯s founder, the late Lee In-hee, Museum SAN opened in 2013 and has since grown into one of South Korea¡¯s largest private art museums, welcoming more than 300,000 visitors annually. Its program spans traditional Korean art and international contemporary works, but it is Ando¡¯s architecture ¡ª austere, meditative and shaped by the surrounding landscape ¡ª that gives the institution its distinctive identity.
Unlike most architects who step away once a building is complete, Ando has remained involved, adding three major external structures over time: Meditation Hall (2018), Space of Light (2023) and, most recently, ¡°Ground¡± (2025), an underground installation codesigned with British sculptor Antony Gormley. According to the museum¡¯s director, Ahn Young-joo, Ando is already at work on another project for the site, still in its early drawing stages, with details under wraps.
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