SPACE-Living and Thinking in Architecture

As an urban planner himself, it is probable that the building’s owner was able to make requests for the application of a specific method and means of building division, clearly guided by the knowledge of how the buildings are to be laid out instead of relying on a vague pre-planned programme. The first thing that the building owner requested for was the clarification of the ‘relationship’ between the city and house, the inner and outer structure of the house, and the exterior space and interior space: ‘Many people cannot differentiate between an urban planner and an architect. Urban planning approaches a structure as one mass, and explores its uses and the relationship it has with its surroundings.’ (Quoted from the owner’s second letter)

Following this, the positioning of the exterior space came before the forming of the structure. The idea was to devise an open position that would fit naturally with the landscape, but the site was an empty site that was no different from designated sites placed close to major cities. An enclosed house was preferred as a pre-emptive move against the possibility that the area will soon develop into a bustling city, and the yard was to be placed at the centre. All houses follow a ㅁ shaped structure that can have a front yard and a back yard. By positioning the ㅁ shaped structure slightly at an angle on the site, triangular yards were formed naturally in each house to facilitate for a wider range of activities. The complex spatiality that each house possesses can cater to activities that are either introverted or extroverted in nature, and depending on how the space is to be used, the front yard and the back yard can also be used interchangeably.

By installing passageways connecting to both yards in this enclosed ㅁ shaped structure, a flow was created between the interior and the exterior. By taking on a form that gradually becomes wider as it leads to the exterior space, the architects ensured spatiality in the inner yard would not be disturbed. Small exterior spaces were placed here and there between each building to blur the line between the inside and the outside, as well as to secure interior spaces naturally within each building. In this way, the contrast between the inside and the outside was diminished. The half-cutting brick tile, which was the main material, was used in the way in which the rough sides were placed to face the ㅁ shaped space while the smooth sides were positioned to face the connecting space in order to emphasise a feeling of connection.

Architect

SoA (Lee Chihoon, Kang Yerin, Lee Jaeweon)

Design team

Kim Minsung, Lim Jaehwee, Seo Seunghee, Jeon Hakye

Location

2185–25, Hacheon-ri, Pyoseon-myeon, Seogwipo

Programme

single house

Site area

808m2

Building area

246.52m2

Gross floor area

278.78m2

Building scope

Parking

Height

5.65m

Building to land ratio

30.51%

Floor area ratio

34.50%

Structure

reinforced concrete

Exterior finishing

brick tile

Interior finishing

exposed concrete, concrete chipping, paint

Structural engineer

Thekujo

Mechanical and electrical engineer

Tae-in MEC

Construction

direct management

Design period

ep. 2015 – Feb. 2016

Construction period

Mar. 2016 – Dec. 2017

SoA

SoA is a group of architects practicing diverse scales in the structural environment through analysing the social conditions of city and architecture. It runs as a partnership between Kang Yerin, Lee Jaeweon, and Lee Chihoon. Based on an understanding of modern life, SoA believes in the new possibilities of architecture, which can enrich modern life.
In 2015, SoA was named as the winner of the ‘Young Architecture Program’ (YAP) hosted by Hyundai Card, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and National Museum of Contemporary Art (MMCA). With the prize-winning project Roof Sentiment, SoA was selected as the finalist of the Emerging Architecture Award, organised by the UK magazine Architectural Review. In the same year, it won the Kim Swoo Geun Preview Award with the project Living And Thinking in Architecture in Jeju. It also participated in the curation of the ‘Production City’ in 2017 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.