Bridging Home, London — Do Ho Suh
Do Ho Suh · Footbridge over Wormwood Street, City of London, UK · 2018–2020
Photo: Loco Steve / Flickr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0), taken 25 May 2020; used in the Street Art Utopia post. Full photograph shown.
In 2018 Do Ho Suh set a to-scale replica of a traditional Korean hanok, with a bamboo garden, at an angle on the footbridge over Wormwood Street, near Liverpool Street station. It was co-commissioned by Art Night and Sculpture in the City. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · Victoria Miro, 21 Sep 2018 Checked A photo shows it still on the bridge on 25 May 2020; by November 2020 Street View shows the bridge empty. Loco Steve photo, 25 May 2020 · Google Street View, Nov 2020 Checked
5 things to know
- A house that seemed to fall from the skySculpture in the City describes the work as a to-scale replica of a traditional Hanok-style Korean house with a bamboo garden that appears to have fallen onto the bridge at an angle, above “one of the busiest roads in the City of London”. The Art Newspaper said it had “crash-landed, Wizard of Oz-style”. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · The Art Newspaper, 24 May 2019 Checked
- The first Bridging Home built for realSuh had developed the Bridging Home series over the previous decade, and London was its first physical realisation, according to the commissioner. The work responded to the migrant history of the East End and the City, set against glass-and-steel offices. Victoria Miro called it Suh’s first large-scale outdoor installation in London. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · Victoria Miro, 21 Sep 2018 Checked
- Built to stay lightThe White Wall Company, which designed and fabricated it, says the self-supporting steel structure had to stay within the footbridge’s weight loading and stand up to high winds. The walls carry Korean calligraphy, and the bamboo garden is artificial. The White Wall Company: Bridging Home Checked
- Somebody’s homeLights on a timer created the illusion that “somebody’s home” after dusk, the fabricator says. The White Wall Company: Bridging Home Checked
- It stayed longer than planned, then leftIn November 2018 The Art Newspaper reported that the organisers had applied to extend planning permission and that the house would stay until March 2020. It was still there on 25 May 2020; Street View from November 2020 shows the bridge empty. The Art Newspaper, 11 Nov 2018 · Loco Steve photo, 25 May 2020 · Google Street View, Nov 2020 Checked
Where it is
- 📍
- The footway bridge over Wormwood Street, near Liverpool Street station, City of London EC2M; about 51.51637, -0.08290 (our estimate from Street View). Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · Google Street View, May 2019 Checked
- 👀
- The footbridge is still there, but the house is not: Street View from November 2020 and October 2024 shows the bridge empty. The Maps button opens Street View from May 2019, with the house on the bridge. Google Street View, May 2019 · Google Street View, Nov 2020 · Google Street View, Oct 2024 Checked
- 🗓️
- While it was installed it could be seen from the street at any time; Art UK lists the installation as 2018 to 2020. Art UK record Checked
Sightings
- 201824 Sep
Unveiled, Memoirs of a Metro Girl
- 201811 Nov
Stay to March 2020 reported
- 2019May
On the bridge, Street View
- 202013 Feb
Londonist: end due April 2020
- 202025 May
Photographed in place
- 2020Nov
Bridge empty, Street View
- 2024Oct
Still empty, Street View
Every stamp links to its source. The amber stamps are reports: the unveiling on 24 September 2018 as given by the blog Memoirs of a Metro Girl, The Art Newspaper’s report of 11 November 2018 that the house would stay until March 2020, and Londonist’s article of 13 February 2020 saying removal was due in April 2020 but another year was being considered. The green stamps are dated pictures of the house on the bridge: Google Street View from May 2019 and Loco Steve’s photo of 25 May 2020 (camera date). The red stamps are Street View images of the same footbridge, empty, dated November 2020 and October 2024.
On the record
Do Ho Suh house sculpture stays put in London’s square mile
“will remain in situ for another 16 months.”
Gareth Harris on the extension: the house was to stay near Liverpool Street station until March 2020. Also republished by Victoria Miro.
Do Ho Suh brings Korean tradition to London’s Victoria Miro gallery
“it appears to have crash-landed, Wizard of Oz-style, onto the Wormwood Street footbridge”
Louisa Buck, reporting on a Contemporary Art Society fundraising dinner hosted by Suh at Victoria Miro, where a film charting the house’s construction had its first showing.
The facts
- Title
- Bridging Home, London, part of Suh’s Bridging Home series and, according to Sculpture in the City, its first physical realisation. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London Checked
- Artist
- Do Ho Suh. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · Victoria Miro, 21 Sep 2018 Checked
- Year
- 2018, for the 8th edition of Sculpture in the City. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London Checked It stayed on into the 9th edition (2019–2020), according to Art UK. Art UK record Checked
- Unveiled
- 24 September 2018, according to the blog Memoirs of a Metro Girl; Victoria Miro announced the work on 21 September 2018. Memoirs of a Metro Girl, 22 Oct 2018 · Victoria Miro, 21 Sep 2018 Reported
- Commissioned by
- Art Night and Sculpture in the City (co-commission); curated by Fatoş Üstek. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · Victoria Miro (The Art Newspaper), 11 Nov 2018 Checked
- Fabrication
- The White Wall Company; artificial plants by Blooming Artificial. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · The White Wall Company: Bridging Home Checked
- Materials
- Steel, plywood, softwood, PVC and paint finishes (Sculpture in the City). The fabricator’s fuller list adds Wisa spruce plywood, PLA and PVC plastic, redwood timber, sand, cement, polystyrene and acrylic. Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · The White Wall Company: Bridging Home Checked
- Place
- Footway bridge over Wormwood Street, near Liverpool Street station, City of London EC2M; about 51.51637, -0.08290 (our estimate from Street View). Sculpture in the City: Bridging Home, London · Google Street View, May 2019 Checked
- Owner
- Unlimited Productions Ltd (Art Night 2017), on loan to Sculpture in the City, according to the Art UK record. Art UK record Reported
- Planned end
- Sources differ. The Art Newspaper (Nov 2018) said March 2020; Londonist (Feb 2020) said April 2020, with another year under consideration; Memoirs of a Metro Girl gives September 2018 to October 2020. Art UK records the installation as ending in 2020. The photo of 25 May 2020 shows it outlasted both the March and April dates, and it was gone by November 2020, so we lean towards a 2020 end with no confirmed date; none of the planned dates can be confirmed. The Art Newspaper, 11 Nov 2018 · Londonist, 13 Feb 2020 · Memoirs of a Metro Girl, 22 Oct 2018 · Art UK record · Loco Steve photo, 25 May 2020 · Google Street View, Nov 2020 Conflicting
- Status
- Gone. It was photographed on the bridge on 25 May 2020; Google Street View dated November 2020 shows the footbridge empty, and so does Street View from October 2024. Loco Steve photo, 25 May 2020 · Google Street View, Nov 2020 · Google Street View, Oct 2024 Checked
- Removal date
- Between 25 May and November 2020; we found no exact date or record of where the work went. Loco Steve photo, 25 May 2020 · Google Street View, Nov 2020 Unconfirmed
Related
- Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos): the Street Art Utopia collection of houses in unexpected places that includes Bridging Home, London
- Fallen Star — Do Ho Suh: the Artwork File for another Do Ho Suh house that seems to have landed in the wrong place, in San Diego
All sources (14)
Official
- Sculpture in the City: “Bridging Home, London”, artwork page. Artist, year 2018, 8th edition, location, co-commission by Art Night and Sculpture in the City, materials, curator Fatoş Üstek, fabrication by The White Wall Company; the work as the first physical Bridging Home.
- Victoria Miro: “Do Ho Suh: Bridging Home, London”, 21 September 2018. Suh’s first large-scale outdoor installation in London, on the Wormwood Street footbridge, EC2.
- Victoria Miro: “The Art Newspaper reports that Do Ho Suh’s Bridging Home, London will remain on view until March 2020”, 11 November 2018. Republication of The Art Newspaper report.
- The White Wall Company: “Bridging Home”. Fabricator’s page: self-supporting steel structure, bridge weight loading, high winds, Korean calligraphy, artificial bamboo, timed lights.
Press
- The Art Newspaper: “Do Ho Suh house sculpture stays put in London’s square mile”, by Gareth Harris, 11 November 2018. Planning extension application; to stay until March 2020.
- The Art Newspaper: “Do Ho Suh brings Korean tradition to London’s Victoria Miro gallery”, by Louisa Buck, 24 May 2019. Report on a Contemporary Art Society dinner hosted by Suh at Victoria Miro; the house “crash-landed, Wizard of Oz-style” on the footbridge.
- Londonist: “How Long Is The City’s Crash-Landed Korean House Sticking Around For?”, by Harry Rosehill, 13 February 2020. Removal due in April 2020; another year under consideration.
- Memoirs of a Metro Girl: blog post on Bridging Home, 22 October 2018. Unveiled 24 September 2018; on display September 2018 to October 2020 (as stated by the blog).
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: “Do Ho Suh’s ‘Bridging home’ London”, photo by Loco Steve (Flickr), taken 25 May 2020, CC BY-SA 2.0. Our hero photo; the house on the bridge.
- Google Street View, Wormwood Street, May 2019. The house on the footbridge.
- Google Street View, Wormwood Street, November 2020. The footbridge without the house.
- Google Street View, Wormwood Street, October 2024. The footbridge still without the house.
Records
- Art UK: “Bridging Home, London”. Record EC2M_SITC_BRID: 2018, steel, plywood, softwood, PVC and paint finishes; installation 2018 to 2020; on loan to Sculpture in the City; owner Unlimited Productions Ltd (Art Night 2017).
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: “Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos)”, October 2026. The SAU post with this photo.
Artwork File · Last checked 22 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files