Seeking to "redefine traditional notions of Korean architecture" the seoul-based IROJE KHM Architects led by Hyoman Kim, told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS that there were 4 main considerations when contemplating the design for this residence.

1) Landing of an Airship that Loads Nature

"The owner of this house is a young pilot and his family for his future home space, the house landed on the site in the new developing town near the Incheon airport.

2) Architectural 'Flight'

"We related the Korean traditional architectural formative characteristic with the pilot's daily behavioral characteristic which is flight and attempted to construct symbolically the cultural identity of the house. The rumaru's (Floating pavilions) carried surface roof 'flying' on top of the courtyard and the dynamic movement of the frozen home metaphorically symbolize the airline's flight. Also, in order to offset the instability of the flight, we planned a 'sitting down' form of a heating stone system which is a Korean traditional architectural structure (the living room is 'in touch' with the ground). By doing this, we tried to grant routinized stability into the house through considering the environmental balance between the sky and the land."

3) The Architectural 'Nature'

"We transformed the Korean traditional architect's spatial and landscape element such as yard, garden and rumaru pavilion into a contemporary housing program which takes into account the house's main outer space and afforest the rooftop so that when you walk from the courtyard to the roof top, it makes a landscape for the sloped roof garden that allows strolling circulation. This allows the home to coexist with nature and form a landscape hill."

4) Budget Constrained Architecture

"We had to overcome the constraints involved with a specified construction cost budget and in order to realize the design's conceptual result such as the program and spatial term,  we had to establish an economical and simple budget plan. This meant that the heat insulation needed to be high and the exterior material used needed to be cost effective. The decision was made to expose the concrete framework surface and concrete block wall surface so that the structural material become a finishing material and the total construction fee was minimized while creating a simple interior space.

For more information on this project or other projects from IROJE KHM Architects contact them or click the link below in the contact details section. 

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