### [Urban Dabansa - Project Description]
"**Dabansa**" refers to the act of drinking tea and eating meals, symbolizing ordinary, everyday activities. Located in a narrow alley in the residential area of Junggok-dong, **Urban Dabansa** was designed with the intention of filling the everyday spaces around us with good, meaningful spaces, just like its name suggests.
The site is situated in an old streetscape, where every building is packed into box-like forms, maximizing their volume. There is barely any space to linger between the road and buildings. The design began with the idea that this alley needed a touch of vitality, a sense of spaciousness and a dynamic image.
The front width of the site is less than 10 meters, and the site has a long east-to-west shape. Additionally, due to the application of sunlight restriction regulations on the northern side, the upper floors taper as the building rises. The building volume was originally constrained by the building regulations, with the lower floor maximizing the front width and the upper floors adhering to the sun angle restriction. The design thus resulted in two stacked masses: the lower level with a wider footprint and the upper floors narrowing.
The first floor is intended for commercial purposes, but instead of maximizing the area, a portion of the front side is recessed to create a sense of expansion in the otherwise cramped and busy alley. The corner of the building, wrapped around structural columns, is fully glazed to maximize the openness of the store interior and allow the outside views to be absorbed into the space.
To the left of the first-floor commercial space, a staircase leads to the upper floors. The main staircase is designed to be visible from the road, stimulating the curiosity of pedestrians. Rather than a traditional stairwell, the staircase runs in a straight line, connecting each floor while wrapping around the left and rear sides of the building. Like an alleyway connecting everyday life, the staircase acts as a buffer between the inside and outside, offering rich views of the neighborhood as one ascends and descends.
On the fourth floor, a lounge and meeting space take shape, where the silhouette created by the sunlight restriction is clearly visible. The upper portion that is cut off by the sunlight restriction becomes the rooftop terrace. To overcome the narrow form caused by the sunlight angle, the ceiling height was increased, and large windows were installed at the front to maximize the openness of the interior. The exterior material of this section was intentionally differentiated from the materials used on the second and third floors, making it appear as an object in contrast to the solid and straightforward mass of the lower levels.
**Urban Dabansa** in Junggok-dong aims to inject energy into the dense urban alleyway landscape while providing a sense of spaciousness and relaxation. Rather than being a typical commercial or office space, the hope is that it becomes a new, yet familiar, everyday building filled with a human touch, blending seamlessly into the lives of the people who use it.
View Original