SPACE February 2023 (No. 663)
As you walk along the western road, which sits about 10m above the lowest road with entrance on the south side, and the bare land on the north side, you can enjoy the colourful brick structures with unique and delicate finishes inside the boundary wall. A house sits in the centre of the site, and the surrounding courtyards are divided by brick walls that extend further than required and spread out in all directions. It is clearly distinguished from other single houses in the neighbourhood by its wide courtyard and a building placed in one corner. At first glance, it reminds us of Mies van der Rohe’s Brick Country House (1923, unbuilt).
If you climb the steep stairs and pass through the opening in the wall without going through the gate, you will soon enter a small secluded courtyard (entrance courtyard) surrounded by high red brick walls and the main entrance to the house. The impression of the entire building, which can be seen from the road, disappears. After passing through the narrowly designed entrance and corridor, you will find the dining room as the central space on the first floor, and the second courtyard (main courtyard) overlooking the Namhangang River to the southeast. Standing at the end of the courtyard, which is higher than the road, you can see the Namhangang River and the mountains in the distance. If you turn around, you will be surrounded by layer upon layer of brick walls. The third courtyard is a fitness courtyard, connected to the fitness room at the edge of the dining room through the folding doors. It is surrounded by the continuous brick wall of the second floor’s façade, and high sloping flower beds that block views of the adjacent land to ensure privacy and create a sense of depth. Behind the kitchen is the fourth courtyard (backyard) surrounded by the tallest brick wall, which is planned as a service space directly accessible by vehicles. On the stairs leading to the second floor, the two courtyards meet. A narrow, tall, and slender fifth courtyard (secret courtyard), which is between the elevated site on the north side and the house, is not directly connected to the interior rooms. A mere step away, the sixth courtyard (play courtyard) enclosure with lawn, hardwood landscaping and the most distinctive red brick. Finally, in front of the bedroom area and library, the terrace forms a long curve on a coloured brick wall. The architects made subtle adjustments to the materials, depth and width, association with interior spaces, and site boundary walls to ensure the uniqueness of each exterior space.
In contrast to the diverse seven exterior spaces, the two roof planes on the first and second floors are in line with the horizon line. The upper height of the extension walls were intended to be different in each courtyard and all converges on these two horizontal planes. The simplicity of the roof line integrates the various exterior spaces that may appear somewhat scattered in appearance. This feature is also considered to have originated from the planning intention for the interior space. Except for the kitchen and guest room zone, the ceiling of all rooms on each floor is finished with the same height in white paint. The doors to each room are also processed high up to the ceiling without lintel. Unlike the individualised exterior spaces, the desire for the interior of the house to be one space on each floor is obvious.
This makes me imagine the interior space without partitions, doors, and quite flashy fixed furniture. If you imagine it as a stand alone exhibition hall, you would ultimately immediately recognise the seven peripheral areas and the Namhangang River beyond the site boundaries. The wide and high library on the second floor embodies this centrifugal sense of space. Residents are expected to recognise their own house as the ‘centre of the world’ through the accumulated fragments of their long-lived life.
This residence is composed of seven exterior spaces on five levels and six interior spaces on four levels. The entrance courtyard, main courtyard, fitness courtyard, and backyard on the first floor, secret courtyard and play courtyard on the stairs, and the terrace on the second floor are the seven exterior spaces. The guest room, entrance, kitchen, dining room, and fitness room on the first floor, and the bedrooms and library on the second floor can be thought of as six interior spaces. The architects considered each and every corner of the entire 712m2 site and 283m2 of floor area as if each space was an individual project. The overall exterior spaces are partitioned without any gaps, just like the building’s floor plans. The architects treated each exterior space as if they were a ‘room’ as Louis Kahn would say, and thought of them as with intended purposes. They did not think of the courtyards as simply the background to a residential object. They thought of the courtyards as something that could evoke the image of a courtyard with reversed dome-shaped structures, like those found in Islamic mosques. The appearance was reversed, with the inside and outside flipped. The memory storage, where the residents’ memories accumulate, was designed in the exterior spaces rather than the interior.
In particular, the brick walls that centre around each exterior courtyard can be seen in great detail with the careful processing of details. The walls are intricate and fierce. The corners where different coloured bricks meet, the corners where different stacking methods meet, and the processing of the stacking method of curved wall surfaces were all considered very logically. The stacked walls that are finished only with horizontal lines without vertical lines further emphasises the curved surface and horizontal nature of the extension walls.
Personally, I find that this design lacks a sense of incompletion, as there are no parts that feel unintentional. I still think about the house and town where I lived when I was young. I feel nostalgia for the spaces that are not captured in photographs, the places I did not enter, the corners of the garden I did not explore, the alleys I never walked down and the parts that were definitely there but are now hazy in my memory. The idea that there is a ‘world of the unknown’ reminds me of that time and place.
The uniqueness of an object is the decisive factor that makes architecture. This is particularly true for single house. In this case, the uniqueness is expressed through the concept of reversed inside and outside space. It seems that the minimal intention originated from the architect. As can be seen in the initial study models, the diversification of the courtyard and the means of various materials expansion walls were set up from the beginning. While the process of communication between the client and the architect is curious, the architect’s ideas were fully realised. I have witnessed many times that results were created in a state of conventional agreement in this communication process. That’s why many buildings are similar around us. The client of this buildingmay have thought, ‘I’d rather live in a city apartment’ if it were a typical single house. The uniqueness of an object is born from the trust between the client and the architect.
Architect
Son Joohui (Hanyang University), SON-A (Kwon Soonj
Design team
Kim Hyunsoo, Lee Hyunwoo
Location
Yangseo-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Programme
single house
Site area
712㎡
Building area
141㎡
Gross floor area
283㎡
Building scope
B1, 2F
Parking
2
Height
7.7m
Building to land ratio
16.76%
Floor area ratio
39.81%
Structure
RC
Exterior finishing
concrete brick
Interior finishing
wooden flooring, paint, stone tile, polycarbonate
Structural engineer
JW Structural Engineers.co., LTD.
Mechanical and electrical engineer
MK ChungHyo Inc.
Construction
T&I construction
Design period
Dec. 2020 – Oct. 2021
Construction period
Nov. 2021 – Sep. 2022
Landscape design
Lee Saehwan
Lighting design
Mo Jaeeun
Son Joohui
Son Joohui is a professor at the Department of Architecture at Hanyang University, an American Institute of Architects (AIA), and a public architect for the Seoul Metropolitan Government. He studied architecture at Hanyang University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2019, he established his own architecture firm, SON-A, where he works on a wide range of projects including architecture, urban design, interior design, furniture, and lighting. He has won multiple awards in international architectural competitions, and has also exhibited his work at the Asia Culture Center and Soda Museum of Art.
Kwon Soonjoo
Kwon Soonjoo is the principal of SON-A and is a registered architect in Korea. She studied architecture at Ewha Womans University, and gained experience at ITM Architects Co.,Ltd. and office 53427. Among her notable works are Yeongju Public Sharing Platform and Sabuk Sarangchae.
Lim Dokyun
Lim Dokyun is currently the principal of Luyoun Architects, and an adjunct professor at Myongji University. He graduated from the Department of Architecture at Seoul National University. He previously worked at Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, Daul Architects & Planners. His major works include the Younglim Building, Naramal Publishing Office, Jake House, Seoya High School Gymnasium, Eunhaengnamu Publishing Co. Office, and Menem Homme Office. He received the Korea Young Architect Award in 2008 and has been awarded three Seoul Architecture Awards.
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