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Architects: Kode Architects, SML, The Cornerz
- Area: 791 m²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Kyung-sub Shin
Text description provided by the architects. For 30 years, commercial buildings in the business area of a housing development district have been recklessly constructed because only their asset and investment values were considered without recognizing the building's relationship with public interest and environments, which has culminated in the Korea's unique program of officetels. Officetels are residential spaces thoroughly alienated from the surrounding urban area as they are located in the commercial area, and just the tool constructed by the endless economic logic without addressing the issue of public spaces, which inevitably causes a number of problems.
Apart from a usual building out of a simple economic logic, we aim to create a new landscape and space. [Land Analysis and Mass Process] We needed a prerequisite that the building should create the images of surrounding commercial buildings constructed later as this building would be the first in the business area of a housing development district. We intended to show a symbolic image that displayed the value of a simple volume in the middle of the chaotic urban environment including flooding neon signs illuminated from nearby commercial properties.
We expected that open stores under the lifted volume at the lower level would act as the media of communication with pedestrians, and slightly different attempts together create a unique scene in the middle of the city with an actively open public space. Two similar but different masses were combined at the central core. By adding a curvy mass to a seemingly stiff building, we planned to make it recognized as diverse images depending on the direction of the view.
Elevation Plan - The elevation plan with 1 m deep curvy grid patterns allowed the exterior and interior to be related visually. In addition, we intended to create a simple image of the whole building in between complex environments through the repetitive grid elevation plan.
Lower Floor Open Public Area - An open public space in front was planned to be connected with the lifted volume and lower floors to induce the natural flow of passers-by. Consistent with this, lower floors were planned at a human scale so that non-stiffened freedom can be shown.
Lower Floor Lobby Plan - The lobby space between two masses plays a role of penetrating the interior and exterior visually and physically through the front and rear full curtain wall. Furthermore, by planning the ceiling as an atrium, a sense of vertical opening is given when entering the lobby, completing a three-dimensional sequence.
Material Plan - Exterior materials are stones to realize the image differentiated from artificial commercial buildings. They are the golden yellow stones in ivory color displaying warmth and elegance, and composed in random patterns so that the whole can be recognized as an object. For interior materials, exposed concrete that gives a tranquil and heavy feel in contrast to the exterior of surrounding buildings was selected. We intended to create a pure natural space that is read as the light and volume through exposed concrete.
