Wa Mok Seok (瓦木石)
Golden Award (2nd Prize) - Korean Hanok Competition
The site is located in Bukchon, close to the center of Seoul, with two of its sides exposed to roads. Living in Bukchon has a different kind of meaning compared to other parts of Seoul. Bukchon is the densest Hanok (vernacular house typology) area of all cities in Korea, thereby drawing a lot of tourism. The residents here have come to understand privacy differently, in a way that accepts a certain level of public-ness as well. The strict local regulations encourage new structures to reflect or complement the Hanok style, while its users desire its use to support their contemporary lifestyles. This proposal is a mix of both demands, as a ‘Neo-Hanok’.
Site Plan
The three representative materials of Hanok are Korean traditional roofing tiles(瓦Wa), wood(木Mok), and stone(石Seok), The proposed facade also uses these materials for contextual continuity, but it is as if a Hanok had been flattened to become a wall, with openings at necessary points. A Slovenian architect Marjetica Potrč once stated that “Facades are not dresses or lipstick. They are organs.” Likewise, this facade’s surface reflects the function of inner spaces to function as an ‘organ of communication’.
East Elevation
North Elevation
The ‘C’ shaped plan is the most common typology within Bukchon. The composition of this proposal’s inner spaces, however, is different from the other traditional ones. In the traditional method, the first floor is raised up 90cm from the ground level and its roof occupies more than 2m of its height, typically limiting the Hanok to a single story building. In the Neo-Hanok, the traditional layout is mixed together with a more contemporary method. Rooms are arranged around the courtyard like the traditional layout, each room forming various relationships with the outside. Without the necessity of the roof volume however, more rooms are stacked vertically, introducing a new, vertical relationship with the courtyard. As a result, it is a Hanok with spaces that is more suitable to the contemporary lifestyle, as an evolution of the Hanok typology.
Ground Floor Plan
Basement & 2nd Floor Plan
Along the narrow streets of Bukchon, only the walls and the soffits of the roofs are typically visible. They create a definite boundary of inside and outside, while also limiting any views of public activity. To prevent this, the surface was designed to have a certain level of transparency, to share the activities within the Madang (the courtyard). Although typically made private, activities within the Madang are usually semi-public, as a place of interaction. These openings will not only create spatial depth, but a more interactive relationship with the pedestrians passing by.
Concrete and reinforced stone blocks are used for the structure of the basement, and glue-laminated timber for the upper floors. The overall construction method is contemporary, but with references to certain traditional details. For example, it is a customary detail of Hanok that its timber structure sits on top of foundation stones. Here, the stone structure from the basement will come up above ground level, as a modification of that detail.
Wall Section
Project Information
Title: Wa Mok Seok (瓦木石)
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Type: House - Korea Hanok Competition, Golden Award (2nd Prize)
Year: 2011