Encoded Heritage is a 12-day intensive research and design programme that investigates experimental preservation within Korea’s rapidly transforming urban environments. Positioned between heritage discourse, digital practice and urban theory, the programme critically examines how 20th-century architectural artefacts are continuously reinterpreted, neglected or erased under conditions of redevelopment, densification and socio-economic pressure.
Rather than approaching heritage practices as a purely restorative or nostalgic act, the programme adopts experimental preservation as a critical methodology. This approach understands preservation as an active, speculative and analytical process – one that interrogates what is preserved, why it is preserved, and for whom. Through this lens, students engage with architecture not only as physical form, but as a carrier of memory, ideology, labour and everyday life.
Korea’s urban condition offers a rich context and conceptual framework for this programme. The coexistence of post-war reconstruction, rapid industrialisation, speculative redevelopment and informal adaptations has produced cities characterised by spatial compression, temporal layering and cultural hybridity. Within this condition, many 20th-century buildings – modern housing blocks, industrial facilities, educational buildings and commercial structures – remain under-recognised within official heritage narratives, despite their profound role in shaping contemporary Korean society.
The programme positions these artefacts as critical sites through which to explore themes of:
By digitally recording and narratively reconstructing these sites, participants critically question dominant heritage frameworks and propose alternative ways of understanding architectural value.
Jisoo Hwang is a researcher, educator and ARB-registered architect. She is a tutor at the AA for Intermediate 17 and Environmental and Technical Studies and is also a studio master at the University of Westminster. With several years’ experience in practice, including positions at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Hopkins Architects, Jisoo has developed expertise across a range of sectors including education, commercial and residential. Her professional experience spans multiple project stages and construction materials, and she remains committed to deepening her knowledge and expanding her practice through both teaching and research.
Sho Ito is an architect and founder of Studio-ITO, a design and research lab in London. He works predominantly on small scale interventions and extensions to transform everyday mundane spaces into spatially rich moments. He is a tutor at the AA for Intermediate 17 and Environmental and Technical Studies. Sho is also a First Year Studio Master at the AA and co-leads a Second Year Design Studio at the University of Westminster. His PhD research explores the extraction of sand and water in relation to geopolitical boundaries and territories.
Terrance Tae Hyuk Kim is the director of fakeprintshop. His work challenges the definition of architectural production, positing that until a building is realised, architects are essentially printing fictions. An AA alum, Terrance’s methodology combines narrative whimsy with forensic precision. His professional tenure ranges from deep-dive technical research to leading large-scale builds. He uses technology as an artistic medium to visualise the invisible constraints of urban space. Terrance is based in Seoul, where he creates smart and polite interventions that question the legacy of the site and the agency of the drawing.

The programme is open to design and architecture students, PhD candidates, young professionals and architects.
Flights and accommodation are not included. Participants need to bring their own laptops and drawing tools.
Scholarship applicants should email Sho.Ito@aaschool.ac.uk by 1 July 2026. For discounted fees, AA students should email Sho.Ito@aaschool.ac.uk and Hongik University students should email Terrance Tae Hyuk Kim at fakeprintshop@hongik.ac.kr. The deadline for Early Bird applications is 31 May 2026. Applications for Full Fee, AA students and Hongik University students close on 15 July 2026.