S Gallery

The site is adjacent to a high-class residence complex 'Seongrakwon' to the north, and it also faces a high-class residence complex to the west. However, the site is adjacent to poor dense houses to the east.

Since the road is narrow, any automobile cannot approach the site from the east or rear. Small houses sized 10~15 pyongs sprawl densely, In such a context, Seongbuk-dong Gallery was designed as two-story building - 20 and 40 pyongs, respectively - to play a core role in the area, shocking it in a positive way.

Since any gallery cannot have windows on its walls, I intended to pursue a scaleless form first of all, so that passers-by might interpret it in their own ways. On the other hand, I challenged a basic formal code giving the windows a sense of scale and revealing a form of two-story building.

What I perceived from the site were the silhouette of the hilly topography, the slopes, and an energy emitted from those things not arranged in the rear side. The larger buildings around the site seemed to block the energy flowing down from the rear, as if they were embankment blocking a river. After all, I decided to reinterpret in my own way the energy flowing down from the rear and the hill.

Whether you see Seongbuk-dong Gallery on a photo or actually visit it, its exterior will betray its interior space. The skin or a hard shell may look urban, while the inside space consists of various levels interconnected. Two small existing houses and a new gallery building are interlinked with each other only to create court yards. Small gardens and patios are connected by a deck. Bright, cozy and still inside is well contrasted with the scaleless and hard shell. Patios are neither exposed or open to outside, but the inside is concealed and protected to enhance the quiet and cozy backyard and deck.