At the southern tip of the Korean peninsula, is a resort development with several complexes that are strategically positioned throughout the dramatic topography of the archipelagic region. The Southcape Owner’s Club Clubhouse is a seamless, continuous, and complete object in nature, with a shape in plan that creates a complex relationship with the surroundings, in rhyme with the rias coastline of the archipelagos that are unique to this region.
The Clubhouse, in plan, is a pair of bars bending outward. The two curvatures engage and hug specific moments of its immediate surroundings - the rocky hill to the east, and the vista out toward the cape to the west. The curved masses allow the building to also embrace what is to the north and south - a grand entry round-about, and a remarkable ocean view to the south. An open central zone is formed, anchoring the complex in a culmination of an entrance patio under a sculptural open-roof, a reflection pool below, and a spectacular framed view of the sea. To the east are the private spa facilities, and to the west, the public restaurant, private dining, and event facilities. There is a contrast that takes place in the program and materiality – solid vs. transparent. The spa area is mostly a closed mass, with a clerestory, progressing to fully open ends, which allows for an outdoor terraced baths with views outward. The dining areas are all glass-clad with perimeter terraces.
The sculpted roof is a geometric rigor driven by the systematic structural organization, which is a response to the three-dimensionality of the natural context. The depths of the curved steel beams are revealed, as if it were a vacuum-formed white concrete membrane, where a series of vaulted canopies ultimately form an x-shape. The 3m canopies that outline the entire roof not only function as a shading device, but follow the overall architectural language, as the edge conditions change in direction, up and down, from the north to south. It adds to the sensuous movements portrayed throughout the building. From a distance the Clubhouse reads horizontal, demure, and subtle. However, closer, one begins to have a dramatic experience through the perspectival exaggerations and views framed by the illustrious canopy edges.