### Introduction
A Firefighter Father Builds a House for His Children: ‘House = Playground’
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to design a children's facility for a public building, which was completed as part of the Gwacheon National Science Museum. This facility, called the "Sensory Playground," became one of the most popular attractions in the museum. The concept, "sensory experience," was expressed through space, which was a new and exciting experience for children who had not had the chance to explore various architectural spaces in the country.
The homeowner, a firefighter, had long been thinking about building a house for his two children. He studied home-building through the internet and books for several years. During his research, he came across the sensory playground and decided that he wanted to design a home with the same concept. That’s when the homeowner and Yuta Architects first met. The concept for the house was to create a home like a playground.
### Main Body
Endless Circulation and Beyond…
The basic layout of the house is centered around a courtyard design. This layout solves privacy issues typically found in detached homes while ensuring ample natural light. Because it is courtyard-centered, the circulation becomes a loop, and additionally, the use of a skip-floor layout results in a more dynamic, three-dimensional flow. The design did not stop there. A vertical passageway corresponding to the firefighter father’s emergency exit, a 4-meter-high slide connecting the attic to the first floor, and even a hammock bridge linking the 2.5th floor and the attic were added as secondary circulation paths. There are as many as five possible routes to get from the attic to the kitchen on the first floor, and in other parts of the house, there are typically four or five different ways to move between spaces. This led to the creation of a special house, named "Endless Circulation."
The playful elements of the house are not merely embedded within the building as a separate feature, but naturally integrated into the fundamental structure of the architecture. All these playful elements are not toys; they are expressed in the language of architecture. The sloped roof placed on the simple rectangular mass of the courtyard shape was designed to resemble a pinwheel, responding to the geometric form. This creates fun by providing each space with different ceiling shapes, enhancing the concept of playfulness.
The windows facing the courtyard are positioned at varying heights and face each other, encouraging communication among family members. One of the charms of the courtyard layout is the way large open areas draw everyone's attention to a single point of view.
### Conclusion
Post-Completion Review
"Endless Circulation" is complex. While the design was difficult, construction was even more challenging. The challenges during the construction process arose from the non-standard nature of the design, as well as design changes due to the homeowner's evolving ideas. Throughout the construction, we constantly faced difficult questions that required the best possible answers within a short timeframe. Although I can't say we always found the perfect answer, we spent countless hours of contemplation with the homeowner and the builders, all with the shared goal of creating good architecture.
Finally, when the building was completed and passed the final inspection, the homeowner, builder, and architect gathered together. We exchanged words of congratulations, and I could feel the homeowner’s joy in receiving the home he had dreamed of and his gratitude towards the architect and builder.
I believe a house designed by an architect should not be a home that only other architects will appreciate. Most importantly, it should be a home that satisfies the homeowner. The concept in architecture should not be used to maintain consistency in expression but should be employed to achieve the clear goal of fulfilling the homeowner’s needs.
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