-
Architects: Doojin Hwang Architects
- Area: 2988 m²
- Year: 2013
-
Photographs:Youngchae Park
-
Landscape Design: Office PARKKIM, Yoonjin Park, Jungyoon Kim
-
Structure: G&H Design Workshop, Pan Structural Engineers, Kyungju Hwang
Text description provided by the architects. Castle of Skywalkers is a training complex for the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers, a leading professional volleyball team in Korea. Located on a gentle, rolling hill in the suburbs of the city of Cheonan, this 4-story, 9,355sm building commands a panoramic view toward the surroundings.
At the heart of the building is an atrium, with various training facilities and dorm rooms centred around a volleyball court at the center. The plan, based on a rectangle, a circle and diagonals, is an exercise in manipulating layered geometry that corresponds to different programs at different levels.
The external walls are conceived as a 'functional skin'; the outer layer of expanded aluminum panels, separated 250mm from the inner layers of structure and insulation, keeps the high summer sun out and lets in the low winter sun, reducing the long-term operational cost of the building at a reasonable initial cost. The highly porous cladding also generates delicate and versatile aesthetics that constantly changes depending on weather, sun's direction and viewers' locations.
Separated from the main building is an annex, whose serpentine lines are shared with the surrounding landscape. Conceived as a small 'party house', the annex is a place for amusement and relaxation for professional sportsmen going though intense training routine.
