Universal Vocabulary— Distinctive Architecture: C5S

SPACE December 2022 (No. 661)​ 

​

The atypical site, created at the crux where the old downtown of Hanam and Deokpungcheon Stream meet, faces a tiny pocket park with aged pine trees remaining on the corner. Like any old city centre, the surrounding area is lined with underdeveloped buildings, and Gyosan New Town will be developed beyond the Deokbogyo Bridge. As a promenade in the city centre that interconnects the old and new downtown areas, a café, a complex cultural space that young people can visit, have also been built. 

Möbius Strip Trail 

To use the site shape to our advantage, I wanted to create a connected city promenade that would walk and chart the shape of the site. The bold decision to empty out the first floor, it naturally enters the realm of architectural expression, and sometimes exists as a resting place for passersby. When one enters the interior and ascends half a floor, the concept of the floor disappears, and after stepping on two steps, it leads to the next level and continues to cycle. If one takes a walk through the interior space through the various height changes of the plates composed of 4.3m and 6.75m, one will enter the promenade of the external city observatory. This is a Möbius strip trail that presents a variety of views. 

Sensing the Past, Present and Future 

The site is an area where the past, the present, and the future coexist to develop into a new town. Upon entering the interior, the structural wall frames at regular intervals of 2.15m create a futuristic atmosphere by introducing changing effects in light and shadow. If diverting from the long traffic line, one will be faced with a homogeneous space, and a sense of the past would be revealed through the light entering between the structural roof beams composed of 1m intervals. A sense of our present moment is expressed in the external space. Here one observes life in the city and the natural landscape from an outdoor space with open walls and roofs. In this way, a sense of the past, present and future coexists in one architectural space. 

Acrylic and Stone 

In the realm of the future, we employed a unique translucent acrylic that can contain the light that changes over time. Well-processed furniture attuned to the light quality is in balance with the natural landscape. In the space of the past, the furniture was made by hand using mossy mountain stones and old elm wood, expressing a crude primitiveness that embraces the changing quality of light that changes over time. (written by Jung Woongsik / edited by Park Jiyoun) 

​