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. Two Courtyards House + Bridge 130 Café in Hadong, South Korea by Lee.haan.architectsJuly 29th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Lee.haan.architects To the west, the site is accessed by the famous road as known as the ‘Road to the Ssanggyesa Temple’ or the ‘Simni (10 ri) Cherry Blossom Avenue, Hadong.’ To the east, it is overlooking the Hwagaegol Valley and provides the view towards the distant tips of Jirisan Mountain, wild tea plantation, and the village.
The site is open all the way round and so required a solution that maintains the home privacy in its entirety as well as providing the view of surrounding natural landscape at any place within the house. We made the cafe adjacent to the Cherry Blossom Avenue frequented by passers-by, and located the house far from the road so as to embrace two courtyards. Two Courtyards House The outer courtyard does not bother to visually block the inside, but enables free access. The entry hall, laundry, carpenter’s store, additional floored hall, and faucets are located around the courtyard, in order to embrace the meeting with neighbors and such an everyday life as to be quite laborious like Kimchi-making and laundry. Around the inner courtyard, the living room, the kitchen, and the main room are arranged in an L-shaped form, while a long floored hall was located towards the valley. The floored hall was completely open towards the valley, but guaranteed intimacy towards the village road with an additional door installed. While the distinction of inside or outside between the courtyard and the living room disappeared, the privacy was stabilized. Going through the stepping stones on water, the gate, and the outer courtyard and entering the living room, one can see the valley under one’s feet and the distant landscape of wild tea plantation, which are invisible from outside. Going upstairs to the study, one can also see the powerful and far-reaching landscape of the Jirisan valley that meanders through the north-south axis. The exterior was clad with grey cement blocks and red cedar in their raw states so as to be well harmonized with the mountain, green tea plantation, cherry blossom trees, and unknown species of grass outside. Bridge130 Cafe Like an old scenic gazebo where the literati enjoyed a refined taste, the cafe is maximally open where one can enjoy the flavor of the Cherry Blossom Avenue and the scenery of the valley. The site, whose level is about two meters apart from that of the Avenue, was partly elevated to make the cherry blossom trees and the cafe meet with each other. The floor and the ceiling were clad with the same material for both the inside and the outside in order to extend the inner atmosphere towards the outside continuously. This is to extend the cafe towards the outdoor space shaded by the cherry blossom trees. At the outdoor space, one can see the whole look of the house aside as well as enjoying the landscape of the valley stretching to a distance. Designed to make easy access to the house, the bridge between the cafe and the house has a similar pattern with the handrail of the old Jeonggeumdari Bridge, so as to reflect the client’s past memories of the old charming bridge just beside the site. We hope this house will be with composure and wisdom to enjoy together or alone the nature of Jirisan Mountain whose landscape is variegated with the four seasons. Contact Lee.haan.architects
Tags: Hadong, South Korea |