[A Neighborhood Story]
Around Namdaecheon Stream, running through Gangneung from the west to the east, the southern area was more backward than the northern old downtown. At the south of Namdaecheon Stream, Noam-dong has been gradually developed since the 1980s. The so-called “Noganigol” village where this Noam-302 is located is undergoing steady revitalization along with amelioration of residential environment through the creation of Wolhwa Street and the expansion of public parking space since the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018.
[Utilizing the Topography]
At the site remains the natural topography declining from the east to the west, despite the new road and public facility constructions. At the east of the site is a city planning road, while at the lower west was a broad vegetable-garden-in-the-city which had been used for the local residents. Downtown development transformed the vegetable garden into a public parking space for the community, before this Noam-302 project started off. We mainly focused on how to link circulations between the main access road on the hill and the parking space under the site by utilizing its geographical advantage. Thus, circulations were designed in such ways as to enter inside the building from the west public parking space through the underground interim path or to move upstairs from the basement to the ground (1st) floor through the external stairs. The cafe “Noam-302” supposed to be run by the building owner was designed to function as a duplex structure via the internal stairs leading to the basement.
[Making Wind Paths]
We designed the 1st basement and the 1st floor as one mass but with a linking throughfare, and for the 2nd and higher floors, we split circulations by articulating three totally separate masses. The linking throughfare on the 1st floor serves as a wind path, leading to a viewing deck around the public parking space toward Daegwallyeong Pass. The three articulated masses were linked to the small hill and landscape at the back through the interstices between them. The three independent housing units on the 2nd floor were designed as duplexes with respective orientations that create different views. Between these articulated masses, we designed wind paths contributing to the formation of independent masses, so as hopefully to maintain connections to the neighborhood and nature. This work of creating wind paths not against the east hilly landscape of the city park was also to embrace the nature of Gangneung.
[Linking Circulations]
For the basement and the 1st floor, independent circulations were made by placing “Noam-302” at the left side while accommodating leased shops at the right side linked to the east main road via the stairs ranging from the basement to the 2nd floor. The underground shops are accessed directly by customers going down from the main road, while the housing units are accessed more indirectly and respectively through the open corridor. Circulations were linked like alleyways in between the articulated masses to give walkers the right to head anywhere.