With
the construction of the Pan-gyo Residence
by the Korean architecture firm, Office
53427, a HI-MACS® façade
was used for the first time in Korea. The properties of the material
masterfully underline the objectives of the firm, which has set itself the goal
of using new materials and technologies to counteract the homogeneous Korean
architectural landscape and its monolithic design.
The Pan-gyo Residence was built on a luxury
site of detached houses, following a tender for which illustrious architects
were invited to bid, and it is now the most striking house in the district. It
stands on a corner lot of around 300 m²; on the west and north sides it extends
as far as the edge of the lot, while to the south and east its organic,
asymmetrical shape flows around a green space and wooden terraces. Its
snow-white walls emerge from a wooden base like a petrified sea wave, with the
foam expressed by the perforation of the façade. This new way of shaping the
façade and the cubature of a living space, breaks with the way in which
residential buildings are traditionally built in Korea, and demonstrates a new
and innovative kind of living space design.
It is thanks to the
open-mindedness of the client that this innovation was possible as, during the
draft phase, the architect Kiwoong Ko
presented three façade materials – wood, brick and the HI-MACS® acrylic stone. The client chose the
Natural Acrylic Stone because he wanted a house that would be as different as
possible from the others. Using HI-MACS® for the first time to build façades in
Korea confirmed this desire for individuality. The architect was also delighted
with the client’s choice as “HI-MACS®
is one of the materials that has very much appealed to me for some years. My
experience with this durable material and its excellent thermo-formability
properties has been very satisfactory, so I was more than happy to recommend
the use of this material for the façade of the Pan-gyo
Residence.”

It was only
thanks to the extraordinary mouldability of HI-MACS® that Kiwoong Ko
was able to produce his innovative design, with windows that protrude from the
façade and square incisions. “I imagined a living space in which the room
structure would satisfy the needs of the family, while providing a natural
connection between the living area and the outdoors,” the architect says,
describing his concept. It was therefore logical that, apart from encasing the
brick façade in HI-MACS®, the acrylic stone was also used for the
interior design of the house.

The building is entered
through a glass front on the south side of the ground floor, via a vestibule.
Here the masterly design is already evident. With its rounded corners which
resemble a piece of furniture, the vestibule divides an open space into a
living area and a kitchen-dining area. The curving ceilings and walls are in HI-MACS® Alpine White, while the floors have the same wood finish as
the base of the building and the terraces.
KiwoongKo continued his consistent use of the
material into the furnishings. The built-in furniture in the living room, the
open-plan kitchen with an island, and the banister of the sculptural staircase
leading from the living area to the upper floor, are all made of HI-MACS® and, with their warm feel, lend the
space both cosiness and elegance.

He has also remained true
to his design in terms of spacing and the arrangement of the ground floor. The
secondary rooms, a bedroom, a bathroom divided into three areas, and a utility
room, are on the north side, facing away from the sun. Fine details such as
installing two sinks in the kitchen, and a change of flooring between the
kitchen island and the wall units – from wood to the water-resistant HI-MACS® – bear witness to just how exhaustively
the architect bore the needs of a family in mind.

The curving staircase, the
banister of which is made of HI-MACS® and glass, leads to the first floor which contains a suite
comprising a dressing room, a spacious bedroom and two bathrooms. There is also
a family den, which explains the organically curving ceiling in the living
area, as it is made up of two levels connected by a staircase, with the upper
level providing access to a roof terrace.

Not only does this house make
elegant waves with its cubature and well-thought-out design; it also represents
a thunderous wave of progress in terms of material and technology.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Location: Pan-gyo, Korea
Design: Office 53427
Manufacture: Daemyung ATM
Material: HI-MACS® S28 Alpine
White; www.himacs.eu
Photo
credits: Yongkwan Kim