Leeum Museum 1

About this place

The first of three architecturally distinct buildings at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art complex, Museum 1 was designed by Swiss-Italian architect Mario Botta and opened in October 2004. Perched on the Hannam-dong hillside, the building is composed of two interlocking geometric volumes — a large inverted cone and a rectangular block — both clad in warm terracotta brick that visually connects the structure to the Korean ceramic tradition displayed within. The terracotta skin is applied in horizontal courses across the sculptural mass, creating a texture that shifts from deep shadow to warm reflected light throughout the day. Botta's characteristic formal rigour is most legible from below: the tapered cylinder rises from a broad base, its circular crown punctuated by a glazed oculus that washes the topmost gallery with diffuse natural light. The material choice is deliberate — the handmade quality of the fired brick anticipates the handcrafted nature of the artifacts inside. The interior circulation follows a spiraling path upward through multiple levels, allowing close reading of individual objects between periodic framed views toward the hillside outside. The collection contains traditional Korean ceramics — celadon and buncheong ware, white porcelain — alongside Buddhist paintings, lacquerware, metalwork, and court objects. Thirty-six works are designated National Treasures of Korea. Museum 1 stands in immediate dialogue with Jean Nouvel's dark steel Museum 2 and Rem Koolhaas's Samsung Child Education and Culture Center, the three structures together forming one of the most architecturally ambitious private museum complexes in East Asia. Each building operates independently in form and material but shares an elevated site, creating a composition that rewards approach from multiple directions. Botta's terracotta volume is the most sculpturally legible of the three — its warm material presence and geometric clarity make it the natural anchor of the ensemble.