SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, Tuesday, June 04, 2019, Sohn-Joo Minn has been included in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Minn has been the design principle architect of Wega Architects since 1994, and has been a vital member of the Republic of Korean architecture and urban design community for many years. From 2011 to 2017, she served as the long-term master planner of urban low-income sector housing for the Eugene Corporation, and still works with the firm as a research and planning consultant. Ms. Minn also shares her expertise with budding architects, and taught as an associate professor with the department of architectural engineering at Yonsei University from 2002 to 2011.
Born to Pyong Yoo Minn and Ok Bae Kim, Ms. Minn’s father was involved in a series of grand mansion projects in the ’60s and ’70s, which meant she grew up with construction sites as her playground. The spectacle captivated her with its countless numbers of construction crews working together as one. Ms. Minn saw buildings change faces day by day and thought it was like magic, a beautiful magic creating space and structure out of nothing.
Determined to learn, Ms. Minn earned a BA from Columbia University in 1984, and was awarded the Marcia Mead Design Award as well as the Josephine Paddock Fellowship that year for her talent in architecture. She completed a Master of Architecture from Harvard University’s graduate school of design in 1988, winning a Distinction Award from the school. She joined I.M. Pei and Partners the following year and was notably involved with the design of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the World Trade Center in Barcelona, Spain, and in 1991, she established the Minn Sohn Joo Studio. Though brief, the project allowed her to become section chief architect of Sisang Architects, and in 1994, she joined Kyonggi University as an adjunct professor. That year, she also became design principal of Wega.
Ms. Minn started as a simple architect, but she believes she has grown together with her work from a family and company life designer into a community life designer. She is still learning and searching to provide better lives for broader social strata, and believes the highlight of her career is still to come. Notably, Ms. Minn received the 2011 Urban Design Achievement Award for Gwang-Bok Street in Pusan, and has won many grand prizes in design competitions.
From lavish hotels to utilitarian grocery stores, Ms. Minn’s work can be seen all over Republic of Korea. In coming years, Ms. Minn sees herself continuing to focus on sustainable low-income housing. In her free time, she enjoys writing and cooking for her students and family. Ms. Minn has two sons, Joon Shim and Myunghyun Shim, who are proud lifetime colleagues.