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Architects: Plan Architects Office
- Area: 86 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Yoon, Joonhwan
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Lead Architects: Lim, Tae Hyung
Species that Disappeared - The process of replacing the old with the new seems natural, but a young couple with three sons was lost in the same residential landscape and standardized house space. Still, it was hard for the couple to make family plans and control their way of living depending on the house structure. Our previous urban housing examples were covered in various media, and the house owners sympathized with our ideas. So, they came all the way from Gyeongbuk Yeongcheon to Jeollado Gwangju. It must have been hard for them to decide on a 6-hour round trip to Gwangju with a pregnant wife. Still, they had a clear motivation.
Circulation and Connection - All of the decisions related to the house were made in consideration of whether the children can have fun and learn in a safe environment and make valuable childhood memories at the house. This idea basically needed a wide space, but the land area needed to be bigger (146 m2, 44 pyeong). It was necessary to capture characteristics that are distinguished but combinable and that are regulated but changeable. So, the basis of the house was designed based on the logic of “circulation and connection.” From a larger aspect of daily movement routes and life cycles, a house has a nature of circulation. In response, stairs were placed in the center of the house floor plan. We designed stairs with two bearing walls and two open walls to move between floors and support flat slabs. Each room surrounding these stairs plays its own function and connects left and right based on continuity of functions.
Landscape of Intervention - In terms of landscape, the house seems quite unfamiliar in first impression. The house feels even more unfamiliar as 30 to 40-year-old houses look drowsy and stagnant, and you cannot find children playing in the street. The street was growing old without new changes, and we added unfamiliar formative principles and unique colors to it. We did not want the house to be forced to be in harmony with its surroundings and be part of the past landscape. Instead, we wanted to capture more practical changes and deliver new positive feelings.
The house design looks unique, but it is still conscious of its relationship with its surroundings. However, it may seem awkward at the same time because there were no architectural attempts in the town. Yeongcheon's house of three sons is not a fortress isolated with walls around the house. Instead, it is made with open walls to allow intervention in the relationship with the surroundings. You can still see the silhouettes of people passing through the wall. The laughter of three sons also livens up the street beyond an open boundary, allowing wind and light.
