SPACE October 2024 (No. 683)
Hanok C. From the town into the house – external space, daecheong-like space, and the internal space – the sense of various layers is fine-tuned and unfolds in stages, rather than relying on simple languages of interior and exterior.
interview Lee Haedeun, Choi Jaepil co-principals, o.heje architecture × Youn Yaelim
More Extraneous, Less Intimate: A Daecheong-Like Space
Youn Yaelim (Youn): I’d like to talk about four of o.heje’s renovation projects. Let’s start with Hanok C, which is located in a narrow alleyway in Seochon. Here, the hanok that had been split, added to, and transformed over the years has been reinterpreted to create a new spatial structure. How did you approach the hanok as a contemporary living environment?
Lee Haedeun, Choi Jaepil (Lee, Choi): The existing buildings of Hanok C were two hanoks and reinforced concrete (RC) structure sandwiched between the roofs of the two adjacent hanoks. The client had bought and lived in the hanok, which had been used as a guesthouse, and had experienced certain inconveniences. Although we still occasionally encounter and experience the hanok, the significance of the hanok as an ordinary living space has long been erased. Moreover, the hanok as defined by the law is based on a simple past form and superficial style, which may be suitable for temporary accommodation, or a commercial or public facility, but many parts of it are not suitable for residential use. On the other hand, we are seeing an increasing number of hanoks that have lost their roots in the accumulation of standardised physical characteristics and ...
