Myongju Artcenter

Gangneung-si, South Korea

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Kyeongryunjae

Myongju Artcenter

Gangneung-si, South Korea

Firm

mmArchitects

Type

Cultural › Hall/Theater Cultural Center

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2017

SIZE

25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

BUDGET

$1M - 5M

This project was launched as part of a regional cultural project that the city of Gangneung has been promoting. As 70-year-old elementary school buildings were relocated to fewer students, existing classrooms and playgrounds were used to plan concert halls, exhibition halls, practice rooms, and local cultural spaces. Located in a densely residential complex in the old city center, the area is surrounded by narrow alleys and low-rise houses, except for the entrance of vehicles. The city of Gangneung wanted to turn the land into a regional cultural center. Performance halls, music halls and practice rooms scattered all over the city were gathered here to train young artists and to help local residents join them. The first floor of the two existing classrooms is an art museum for special exhibitions, and the second floor is a dance, play, and music practice room, which is extended to the third floor to consider the concert hall.
"...walking down a narrow alleyway, an old zelkova tree keeps a lookout for the playground and village, and the locals are still chatting below it. The alleys are crowded around what the neighborhood children do, and sometimes the elders in front of the house greet them when the cyclist passes by. In the corner of the playground, two ladies are exercising, and sometimes cars park or turn around in a narrow alley. The large windows in the classroom are still quiet, but they still give the impression that students are likely to run across the windows. Though it is stopped, it is creating vitality as if nothing is going on here…” It was my first visit.
Rather than feeling like an abandoned school, it was warm and lively and still remains as part of the neighborhood, which was enough to evoke childhood memories. The venue for meetings and dialogue, relaxation and exercise were the current roles of the school. The program was removed as the school, but it was created as part of the old city. The loss of function and self-healing were beyond the control of the human body. So, rather than creating anything, it was a way to share the life of an old town. If the program had been set as a facility, I wondered how the new program would be recognized naturally in the old city center, just like the artificial organs of the body. Especially, since it is a complex facility, how each use and use will be linked to the region also affected the plan.
1) Location Link
Houses, alleys, and schools are divided into physical fences, gates, and trees. On the other hand, the use of space is linked to a house, a yard, an alley, and a school. It gradually connects from private to public. In addition, community expansion is the same way. It is not planned from the beginning like the European Plaza, but is a natural place between a house and a village.
2) Concert hall
I think it's only natural that professional concerts give good music to people who pay high admission fees. And I believe that architecture should provide appropriate services. On the other hand, I also think that theaters or concert halls are not built for the high ticket costs. This place, which was a school, was part of the life of the local people and is a memory. Hopefully, it will be a part of the town beyond Proscenium, rather than a concert hall that will be completely closed when the sun sets. So, in the evening, like the windows of the town that are lit here and there, I hope the lights will be lit up and people will think this part of the neighborhood as well. I thought we could get together for a good performance after dinner. So, the entire rear stage was designed with windows. There is no longer anything in and out of proscenium.
3) Structure
Frameworks up to the second floor used the existing framework. As the building was built a long time ago, there were no drawings, and when the actual conditions were reviewed, the problem was serious because the floor slab was less than 80mm. The program requires a lot of load, so the third floor should have been separated from the existing structure due to the separate structure of the steel frame structure in the deck slab. The existing building did not consider the loading facilities as a concert hall, so there were no freight lifts. In addition, one stair was used without distinction of audience, player, and operator, so a full redesign was carried out according to function.
4) Acoustic
The concert hall chose the gable roof, which has many downsides. Due to the heavy snow in Gangwon-do, it was inevitable to make the choice at the request of the client, and as an alternative, it installed the first acoustic reflectors and the side acoustic reflectors that were transparent inside. The rear window was opened at the time of initial design, but it was changed to a fixed type curtain wall because of the management cost and budget. At the same time, the step-wise curtain wall system disappeared due to the sound. Instead, the acoustic values were adjusted using the side and upper acoustic reflectors after consultation with the acoustic consulting. And porous volcanic stone panels were used instead of perforated sound absorption plates. The front row of the audience was a moving seat, which was used as an extrusion when performing large-scale orchestras or plays. The six acoustic reflectors on the upper part of the audience are designed to be adjustable according to performance in a horizontal plate of high density wood. The exposed steel frames were then used to enable lighting ladders, banner ladders and house curtains.

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Myongju Artcenter

Gangneung-si, South Korea

Other Projects by mmArchitects

Kyeongryunjae

Myongju Artcenter

Gangneung-si, South Korea

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team