London-based Gilles Retsin Architecture has unveiled its entry for the Suncheon Art Platform competition, an arts center formed by a low, horizontal structure that frames a series of courtyards and squares in Suncheon, Korea.
These courtyards will be composed of four main public spaces —a central events courtyard, a sculpture courtyard, a garden courtyard, and an entrance square—each of which is intended to connect and nurture the various programs surrounding it.
The architects explained that "overall, the design will consist of 278 standardized, large-scale, engineered timber elements, which combine together into a highly differentiated spatial assembly. These blocks are initially structurally weak but gain strength through redundant combination."
This system is a technologically advanced construction method based on Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), a method of prefabricating stiff hollow tubes in straight or L-shaped pieces. The hollow insides of these tubes can then be utilized for HVAC installations, services, and museum lighting.
Furthermore, this construction method reflects traditional Korean architecture and timber construction, which features similar spatial organization and timber jointing.
Architects
Location
Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, South KoreaTeam
Gilles Retsin Architecture: Gilles Retsin, Lei Zheng, Dongwhi KimEngineering
Tim Lucas, Price & Myers Consulting EngineersPhotographs
Gilles Retsin ArchitectureArchitects
Learn more about the project here, and see the winning design here.
News via Gilles Retsin Architecture.