오늘날 건축의 외형이 엄청나게 불어났다. 2000년대 접어들면서 건설경기는 관공서와 대기업이 발주하는 턴키 물량 중심으로 활발했다. 한 마디로 건설과 건축설계분야의 공룡 기업들의 전쟁터를 방불케 하는 것이었다. 90년대 말 IMF 체제 하에 축소 지향했던 국내의 내로라하는 건축설계사무소들이 경쟁적으로 대형화 되었다. 또한 근년에는 민간투자사업(BTL)의 활성화로 중규모 설계사무소에까지 그 여파가 미치고 있다. 우리 건축을 소개하는 유력 건축 잡지의 지면도 화보 중심으로 부쩍 두툼해졌다. 1년을 정리하는 대형 설계사무소 자체 저널의 종수도 늘어났고, 두께도 눈에 나게 두터워졌다. 

전국적으로 각 지자체에서 벌이는 대단위 개발 프로젝트와 주요 광역도시들에서 개최하는 국제적 건축 기획 프로그램이 출몰하면서 건축시장은 분명 활황을 맞고 있음이 분명하다. 더욱이 국토균형발전이라는 이 정부의 국가경영이념에 따라 전 국토가 개발의 최전선에 내몰릴 형국이니만큼 급기야 그것의 시장성을 눈여겨 보아온 1군 건설사들이 앞장서서 건설과 건축설계 겸업을 제도화하여 국가경쟁력을 제고하자는 목소리 또한 커지고 있다. 이에 반기를 든 건축사들의 집단행동과 건설사의 대정부 압력으로 인한 기분 나쁜 전운이 건축계 전반에 감돌고 있음이다. 2000년대 이전에는 그나마 베일에 가려 국내에 잠입했던 외국의 유명 건축가들이 저들의 유명 브랜드가 도시와 기업의 가치를 높일 수 있다는 브랜드마케팅의 전술을 등에 업고 보란 듯이 속속 들어서고 있다. 그 결과 우리의 도시가 새로운 건축의 물결로 활력을 찾고 있다는 반응도 만만치 않다. 또한 그 아류들로 도시가 채워지고 있다. 반면 한국건축의 특질에 대하여 고뇌하는 건축가도, 학자도 사라져버린 듯한 작금의 현상은 위기가 아닐 수 없다. 5년제 건축학제 입학생들이 5학년이 되는 올해 여지껏 건축학교육인증원의 설립을 법제화 시키지 못한 건축계는 코앞에 닥친 현안을 풀기에도 벅찬 때다. 정황이 이러하니 건축계 전체를 아우르는 문화적 거대담론의 생산은 애초에 불가능했다고 보는 것이 옳다.

외래 건축이 점령

그 사이 외국 건축의 스타일과 이론들은 그들의 전령을 자처하는 유학파 건축가들의 입과 손을 통하여 거침없이 쏟아져 들어오고, 대학에서조차 그 흐름을 놓치지 않으려는 듯 이 땅에서 건축하는 우리들의 감각을 외래화 시키는 데에 혈안이 되어 있다. 최근 광주시의 ‘아시아 문화전당’ 당선안과 관련하여 시민사회 일각에서 문제 삼은 바 있듯, 어느덧 우리 시민들의 건축의 시선조차 기념비적이며, 상징적인 브랜드주의로 옮아가있음을 엿볼 수 있다. 건축가가 지역의 정서를 얘기하고, 도시의 역사성과 함께 장소의 컨텍스트를 얘기하며, 그 지역에 걸 맞는 위상의 건축이념을 제안하는 것이 쉽사리 공명되지 못하는 느낌을 받는다. 급격하게 장소성이 무시되어온 국내 대도시 건축의 경향성이 자초한 형국이다. 이미 대중들도 건축의 거대함과 화려함 혹은 기념비적인 성향에 현혹되어 있는 것이다. 

전술했듯이 국가적 경제대란인 외환위기의 시절을 지나오면서 일시에 빈사상태에 처하여 죽다가 살아난 건축계는 부익부빈익빈의 예고된 흐름을 타고 별반 달라지지 않은 건축생산 시스템을 답습하며, 오히려 디자인 속지주의를 방패막이 삼아 외국 건축의 신건축 경향을 극구 수용하는 데에 혈안이 되어있다. 이 땅에 건축되는 모두가 우리 것이라고 하는 기이한 가치전도에 의거하여 세계화의 최전선에서 외래건축 스타일이 우리 도시의 곳곳에서 환호와 갈채 속에 점령군의 위용으로 자리 잡아가고 있다. 80년대와 90년대에 걸쳐 급부상했던 장년의 건축학자들은 유명 건축가들의 대학입성에 밀려난 듯 뒷방을 지키고 있을 뿐 전면에 나서는 일은 드물어졌고, 나선들 부지불식간에 디자이너로 등장하기에 바빠졌다. 이론과 실무의 결합이라는 용의주도함을 빌미로. 그 사이 건축 책의 출판 종수는 늘었지만 학문적으로 유익하고 인상적인 저작물의 수는 미미했다. 학자로서 중량감을 인정받는 분들에게서 지난 10년간 제대로 된 한 권의 이론서가 쓰여 지지 못하는 피폐한 건축학의 구조에서 우리의 건축이 건강하다고 단언할 수는 없다. 이것은 분명 한국현대건축의 딜레마다. 

Korean Architecture in a Fully Inflated Balloon

A series of recent complaints against the prizewinning design of the International Project Competition for the Asian Culture Complex in Gwangju reflects our distorted bias toward the monumentality and brand liability in architecture. It seems difficult for an architect to sympathize with local people in sharing architectural ideas in their own context of local sentiments and history. This phenomenon results from the trend in big cities neglecting their environmental characteristics. We have already been taken by the monumentality and massiveness of contemporary architecture.

Building companies that have survived the IMF economic crisis during the second half of the 1990s changed little in their performance. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer, and new tendencies in foreign architecture were positively sought. In the sole belief that a building built in Korea belongs to Korean architecture, western style buildings rose high here and there as if they were occupation forces hailed in the name of globalization. This is certainly the dilemma of the contemporary architecture in Korea.

- J.S.Jahn

- 전진삼(1960- ) 중앙대 건축(공)학 학사. 월간 공간 space 편집장 역임. 현 간향미디어랩 대표.