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Architects: Engineforce Architect
- Area: 121 m²
- Year: 2011
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Photographs:Kim Yong Kwan, Efrain Mendez
‘Exceptional without Exceptional’
The site of project is located in Yangpyeong-gun, Shinbok-ri and sloped with the front to the south-east. It was preserved to the original condition of terrain without the man-made development. There were several suburban houses gradually starting built in neighborhood. The family of client was 3 people and they provided us with what they wanted in this house from the beginning very clearly. They’d like to have the independent space for each of them. And, there should be the studio space for a husband who’s been working as a designer. Additionally, the clients who’ve lived in the hi-rise residential building for 30 years, wanted to achieve not only the spacious living space but also a low cost for the maintenance and the high quality of indoor environment beyond the simple dream of the life in the single home. With those purposes, the client researched some residential projects around the world, and he learned about the “Passive House”. He chose up the team with architects, contractors, and other specialists to realize this project, even though it was almost impossible to find any expert in that field. Finally, Yangpyeong Passive House project could be launched.
The main mass of building was divided by three, each of masses was located with each different angles followed the slop of site. That was to consider the each identical orientation and view for all of them; therefore they have a variety of outside yard and its different type of distant view. Also, the unique openings, at the contact point of each building masses with the different shape of roof, they have a role of not only dividing the spaces also connecting them. The natural light thru the windows in the various angle of wall create its different kind of texture of space even in the same time frame.
Even though the background of this project was ‘Passive House’, there were no differences in the process of design with other project. The theory of ‘Passive House’ which was developed in Germany, started from the very simple concept that the comfortable indoor environment could be achieved thru the 3 elements – insulation, airtightness, and the ventilation using heat exchanger. Therefore, in designer’s side, we couldn’t realize any limitation through the process of design. It was a new experience that we could estimate the impact of the issues we usually used to consider - such as an orientation, the cross ventilation, and the insulation depending on the climate – in the software called ‘Passive House Planning Package (PHPP)’ in the point of energy efficiency. A designer should approach and design a building from a user’s side, especially in case of residential project. It was a great harvest from this Yangpyeong Passive House project that the aesthetic elements and functional elements as well as a pleasant indoor environment could be planed and obtained at the same time.
