ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. KAIST IT Convergence Building in Daejeon, South Korea by Kyu Sung Woo ArchitectsNovember 8th, 2013 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Kyu Sung Woo Architects Located in a suburb of Daejeon, Korea, the campus is comprised of buildings scattered throughout a lush setting of tree groves and fields. Selected from an open design competition, the scheme places the new 26,000sm building on the northern edge of a green lawn running parallel with the East Gate axis. The design brings together the fields of Computer Science and Electronic and Electrical Engineers. Rectangular boxes are stacked nine stories high and arranged around a central core of large multi-level, indoor and outdoor social spaces that enhance cross-discipline communication between both students and professors.  Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam
 Image Courtesy © Won Yang Kim
 Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam The building’s upper six stories contain the labs and research offices, with the Computer Science department on the west side and the Electronic and Electrical Engineers on the east side of each floor.. The perimeter rooms have been arranged to accommodate abundant, yet appropriate, daylight; with laboratories on the north side and offices on the south. The first two floors house administrative offices and all the public spaces; including classrooms, lecture hall and a multi-purpose international conference hall.  Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam Spaces are composed along a central spine of service cores and lounges for maximum efficiency, as well as social connections. There are three large atriums within the central spine that are focal points of the building community. Each department has their own 3-story lounge space, one on the west end for Computer Science and one on the east end for Electronics Department. Both lounge spaces have access to outside terraces and are designed as interior extensions of these outdoor spaces through the use of glass and similar finish materials.  Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam The central 9-story high glass atrium brings everyone together. It begins at the main lobby and runs the entire height of the building to a glass roof above, providing plenty of daylight. The atrium contains the public elevators within it and is surrounded by corridors and student lounges; making it a significant visual, physical and symbolic connection between all the levels.  Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam The influx of daylight is an important principle in the spatial organization of the building. Numerous recesses in the overall massing express the interior space while allowing light to penetrate deep into the building and provide a direct connection to the exterior in the form of green roof terraces. Spatial connections, natural light and economy of materials are a design priority. The building is a concrete structure and many of the surfaces within the building are exposed concrete. Smooth, painted drywall is used sporadically as if a precious finish layer over the contrasting rough concrete. The interior corridor partitions are all glass in order to extend the visual communication between spaces.  Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam The exterior of the building also uses few material types; it is clad in a combination of solid and perforated aluminum panels, glass and extruded cement panels. A metal parallel louver system is applied to the south façade which is designed to shade the research offices from harsh summer sun, while allowing maximum sun light in the winter months. Bamboo planting throughout the site landscape gradually ascends onto the fourth floor roof garden and up to the various decks and interior lounge spaces. The north elevation uses colored two story operable panels that scale down the large façade and provide a smooth, yet lively, background to the north garden.  Image Courtesy © Goongsun Nam The East Gate Lawn of the front quad is complimented by a more private, walled garden in the back of the building, on the roof of the open-air parking garage. This backyard provides private outdoor patios for the conference hall and cafe, as well as a connection from the fitness center to existing tennis courts. Large surrounding trees isolate the garden from outside environments, while seating and walking paths create a quite setting for contemplation and social interaction.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects Daejeon, South Korea – Kyu Sung Woo Architects, an international architectural practice headquartered in Cambridge, MA. has designed the new IT Convergence Building for KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). Established in 1971 as the nation’s first graduate school specializing in science and engineering education and research, KAIST has become Korea’s foremost center for strategic R&D projects with international significance. The new IT Convergence Building will for the first time bring together the fields of Computer Science, and Electronics and Electrical Engineering into one 26,000sm interdisciplinary building.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects Kyu Sung Woo’s design focuses on bringing students and professors of these varied disciplines together, through simple and clear spatial organizations and materiality. The building features transparent research labs and faculty offices designed around a central spine of service cores and large multi-level, indoor and outdoor, social spaces that maximum efficiency and enhance cross-discipline communication.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects Three large atriums within the central spine are focal points of the building community. Each department has their own 3-story lounge space at either end of the building. Both lounge spaces have access to outside terraces and are designed as interior extensions of these outdoor spaces. The central 9-story high glass atrium brings everyone together. It begins at the main lobby and runs the entire height of the building to a glass roof above, providing plenty of daylight at the center of the building. The atrium contains the public elevators and is surrounded by corridors and student lounges; making it a significant visual, physical and symbolic connection between all the levels.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects The influx of daylight is an important principle in the spatial organization of the building. Numerous recesses in the overall massing express the interior space while allowing light to penetrate deep into the building and provide a direct connection to the exterior in the form of green roof terraces. Spatial connections, natural light and economy of materials are a design priority. The building is a concrete structure and many of the surfaces within the building are exposed concrete. Smooth, painted drywall is used sporadically as if a precious finish layer over the contrasting rough concrete. The interior corridor partitions are all glass in order to extend the visual communication between spaces.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects The exterior of the building also uses few material types; it is clad in a combination of solid and perforated aluminum panels, glass, and extruded cement panels. A metal parallel louver system is applied to the south façade which is designed to shade the research offices from harsh summer sun, while allowing maximum sun light in the winter months.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects The building establishes a new identity for the campus at its East Gate entrance, creating a front green quad, which is complimented by a more private, walled garden in the back of the building on the roof of the open-air parking garage. Large surrounding trees isolate the garden from outside environments, while seating and walking paths create a quite setting for contemplation and social interaction.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects Done in association with local Architect of Record: BAUM Architects For information on Kyu Sung Woo Architects visit the website: www.kwsa.com. Kyu Sung Woo Architects is an international practice, based in Cambridge, Mass. that creates memorable spaces reflecting the emotional and functional needs of the people who will use them. From university housing to urban complexes, the firm designs buildings and environments that restore the meaning that architecture can bring to the individual’s daily life. Current work includes the Asian Cultural Complex, a 100,000 square meter urban scale project in Gwangju, Korea.  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects  Image Courtesy © Kyu Sung Woo Architects
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Tags: Daejeon, South Korea Categories: Building, Building Campus |
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