Pangyo-ri House
Pangyo-ri, Sacheon-myeon in Gangwon Province is an area where Sacheon Rice is produced on the broad paddy field between the shelterbelt stretching out along the eastern coast and the National Highway No. 7. A small hilly land remains between the national highway and the rice field, and Pangyo-ri House is located at the place where one can see the low hill to the south.
The original old house was located at a good place in terms of geomancy (feng shui) under the ridge, surrounded by the hills at the background that protects the house from the climate while no special scenery. The hilltop is exposed to the wind and noises but provides the visual beauty of remote landscape, In order to utilize all these advantages, we designed a three-story house which looks like flowing along the site.
The initial plan was to serve three generations, connecting the spaces for a couple, children, and the husband's parents across the three stories so as to show harmony between generations. However, as the parents' space was excluded from the final plan, the three axes for massing changed to two axes.
The whole structure consists of three articulated masses, the middle structure of which supports the top structure laterally. With the protrusive living room, we intended to give an impression that the whole structure is supported only by a column, or that the massing embraces the landform as if gripping it with a left hand.
The top structure was filled with a living room, a kitchen, and a couple's space; the middle with the two children's bedroom and study room; and the bottom for the family's pastime activity. Besides, along with the internal path, outdoor stairs were designed from the entryway between the vestibule and the parking lot to the roof terrace on the 1st floor.
For Pangyo-ri House, we particularly focused on how to organize outward views. The windows at the living room have another axis that deviates separately from the axis of the building a bit towards the eastern direction, in order to provide the better view towards the outside scenery while letting the direction of the building flow along the topography. Going up to the loft between the vestibule and the kitchen, one can view the remote hills to the south through the high windows at the kitchen. For the stair hall, the couple's room, and the children's room, three corner windows were designed for outward views.
The middle level gives off a subdued atmosphere with the mass which looks pushed in relatively under the top living-room structure that protrudes along the hallway. Going down the stairs to the first basement, one can see the cinema space for pastime use next to the yards underneath. Separated from the family's living space, this cinema space provides comfort without distraction from any guest's circulation.
With this design, we wanted to escape the standardized urban housing and instead suggest a life adapting to the topography and assimilating to nature.