Atelier KI JUN KIM

Atelier KI JUN KIM is an architecture practice founded by Ki Jun Kim in 2016. The studio's work is driven by an interest in dialogue, collective memory, and potential of antitheses, pursuing architecture at the intersection of historical urban fabric and contemporary spatial production. Each project begins by reading the layered conditions in which past and present coexist, and translates these readings into built form by exploring the range of constructive possibilities between advanced building technologies and appropriate techniques with a contemporary sensibility. Through this approach, the studio seeks an architecture that fosters publicness, social solidarity, and meaningful transformation in urban life.

Ki Jun Kim is a Germany-registered architect and founder of Atelier KI JUN KIM. He holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from Korea University and a Master of Architecture from Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin), and studied at ETH Zurich. Before establishing his own practice, he gained formative experience at ISON Architects, Atelier Peter Zumthor, Diener & Diener Architekten, and Barkow Leibinger, and taught as adjunct faculty at Technische Universität Braunschweig. He is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, Korea University, where he leads the Lab for Architecture in Existing Contexts, pursuing design-driven research.
His recent works include House by the Suwon Fortress Wall, recognised as 2024 Project of the Year (da! Architektur) by the Berlin Chamber of Architects; the remodelling of the Shinhan Bank branch of Myeongdong Station, Seoul; and the garden project S'Y RETROUVER at the International Garden Festival, Jardins de Métis, Québec. In 2023 he published a Korean translation of Camillo Sitte's City Planning According to Artistic Principles.