Open&Closed Residence by OBBA

Architects: OBBA
Location: Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Year: 2015
Area: 2,691 ft²/ 250 m²
Photo courtesy: Kyungsub Shin
Description:

Today’s city changes so quickly that it impacts the courses in which our local surroundings changes in the urban focus. Quickening commercialization and expanding land estimation of the focal city territory hence moves the character of its own private spaces. Theoretical multiplex lodgings and business structures slowly involve the territories where used to be thickly focused with single-family houses. Accordingly, we witness the current single-home typology moving towards the suburb, and in such way, our urban focus loses its heterogeneity of its lodging sorts.

This habitation is situated inside of the piece between Gangnam Financial Center and Gaenari Apartment Complex, 8 minutes stroll from the Yeoksam Station. This region was once thought with numerous confined houses. In any case, Gangnam’s advancement of the business region and its ensuing addition of area quality gentrified the zone with multi-unit rental lodgings and mid-ascent office structures.

The customer has been living in the house for his whole life, and wished to respect the will of his mom not to leave the spot that has valuable recollections of. They chose to obliterate the feeble house and manufacture another home in the same spot for his family to live respectively. The task started as a response to the changing urban environment, attempting to moderate the current estimations of the house. Such connection drove us to think about another sort of single-family home typology.

The site is neighbouring a 5 meter wide street on the east. Its north, south and east sides are all encompassed by 5 story multi-unit lodgings, and a house on the west side is lifted because of the level contrast. Securing normal light and protection was one of the essential concerns, particularly in light of the lodging expanding on the south confronts its windows towards the plot territory. We were requested that separation the house to ensure that the customer’s family and his mom have their own particular private spaces.

The house comprises of three stories, and each turns into a different volume; mother’s private space on the ground floor, a mutual space, e.g., front room, lounge area, and kitchen, on the second floor, and the child’s family on the third floor. We conveyed the house nearest toward the north-west end of the site, so it lessens the site scope region whilst securing enough tallness of the building. The house is very much lit as it is adequately removed from the southern property line, and this gives an enough meandering space for the customer’s mom.

A twofold layered expansive window shows up on the south side rise of the house. The window comes to from the second floor to the third floor, generally open towards the sky. Be that as it may, we were mindful to the private spaces, for example, its room and washroom, forgoing an uncomfortable look all things considered, yet as yet giving the light access from the sky. The second floor’s parlor and the third floor’s study are situated at the south-east corner, whose rise is extensively open, permitting an a lot of common light to come in.

Brilliant shaded blocks are utilized as a principle material of the house keeping in mind the end goal to give a feeling of placidity. It additionally supplements the constrained level opening, while reducing a visual incoherence which may have been happened because of a solid type of area on the south-east corner. The divider confronting the street is a blend of chipping concrete and red cedar louvers, offering an illusionary profundity of the divider. In such way, the house and its encompassing dividers are communicating with the neighbouring environment, while in the meantime, placidly sitting all alone land.