[DIALOGUE] The Methods Behind Neighbourhood Living Facilities ─ FLEXIBILITY: PRECISION

SPACE March 2025 (No. 688)

Nonhyeon Matryoshka (2014) 

DIALOGUE

​Kim Dongjin​​ professor, Hongik University × Lee Sungyong principal, SYL Architects × Zo Hangman professor, Seoul National University 

FLEXIBILITY: PRECISION 

Neutral Plans

Zo Hangman​(Zo): I sense that Kim subtly prioritises temporary occupants than client. The idea of architecture without an owner also reflects this approach. But this is precisely why clients keep coming back to him. His neighbourhood living facilities are flexible in a conceptual way, but are also spatially adaptable. If you take a look at the standard floor plans, they are incredibly simple, especially in a way that consistently maintains a universal form for rentable spaces. Architects with excessive ambition often struggle to do this. I see it as a keen response to the capitalist spirit of today. (laugh) 

Kim Dongjin(Kim): Flexible architecture is neutral architecture. Neutral architecture is a space of potential, which comes from emptiness. If architectural forms and floor plans become overly complex, flexibility is lost. The free forms and styles that architects obsess over ironically constrain the freedom of use. When letting go of the urge to attribute excessive meaning to form, space becomes simpler, and the focus is led on the essential structure. If the client desires profitability, the architect’s task is clear: design to enhance the potential for rental and convenience. 

Zo: The flexibility in Kim’s work comes from the regularity of the spaces. He tends to eliminate all excess. Except for Huam Karst, which sits on a triangular plot, all the projects I have seen share a clean layout. It features pure white private spaces paired with attached communal spaces. When rental spaces are small or have basement constraints, he adds incentives such as ‘this unit may be compact, but it comes with a terrace, a su...