Dawn House
Dawn House is located on a residential plot developed in the Dongbaek District, Jungdong, Giheung-gu, Yongin, built on part of Seokseong Mountain.
When I first visited the site, there was a slope of more than 1 meter, with the terrain continuing upward into the mountain nearby. Prior to clearing the land, like many other plots, the area was filled with plants cultivated by the neighboring houses, with bracken growing densely and leaves rustling in the wind.
The client, who lived in the city, requested a house where their young children could enjoy a variety of activities and play freely, even within the confines of the home.
Our first idea was to work with the natural slope of the land.
We decided to preserve the sloped terrain as much as possible, organizing the land into different levels and placing the floor on top of the prepared ground.
The floors were arranged in a way that followed the rhythm of the slope, creating a sense of flow, and this rhythm didn’t stop at the lower levels but continued up to the attic in a skip-floor format.
Each of the layers was simply arranged with its own functional spaces, reflecting the family’s desire to respect each member's hobbies and interests. The spaces were clearly divided into individual areas where each person could focus on their own activities, while also providing spaces where the family could gather.
The overlapping layers and stairs created a natural playground for the children, a small library, and at times, a movie theater. For the adults, various spaces were created where they could spend time together with the children or separately.
Moreover, every room, hallway, and stairway in the house had its own unique meaning and purpose.
The rhythmic movement within the building also influenced the sloped land, resulting in three distinct courtyards within the site: the lowest courtyard facing the living room, a mid-level courtyard adjacent to the family room and dining area, and the highest courtyard, which forms the house’s "face" as one enters.
Thus, the building and land were smoothly connected in plan, and a variety of activities took place in the connected courtyards.
We wanted the rhythm of the land and building to extend beyond the interior and the ground and manifest in the building’s elevation as well. We drew inspiration from the rustling bracken leaves on the site and the surrounding mountains.
The resulting forms, overlapping in various ways, became the roof over the kitchen and dining area, created a deck in front of the master bedroom, shaped a gabled roof in front of the children's room, and formed undulating roofs that flow naturally across the design.
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