The project is in a quiet rural village located in suburbs of Dongtan New-Town where the Jung-rilake is in front of the site and Mt.Mubongstands behind. There are two roads for the land access, however, the road in front is pulled back, and the backside road is directly adjoined with the buildings. With its road condition, the site has advantages and disadvantages at the same time. The building will have a beautiful lake view in front, but the view only goes for the short side of the building since the site has a long narrow shape. The clients are two young brothers in age of 40s and purpose of the building is a commercial facility. The brothers showed a totally different style of architecture in many design phases; one person wants more lake views, and the other insists for South facing building unconditionally.

As for the architect, we needed to provide the clients persuasive idea rather than two boxes on the site. To carry the architect’s design, detail plan and 3-dimentional image are needed. The finished design with depth and serious process raises value of future building whether it is tangible or intangible.

Since the budget for this project was so tight, that more thinking on design for users was focused than putting expensive materials; such as building impression, new space experience and interesting user’s program. The architecture on the site was began with a comprehensive thinking of solving and improving the site’s characteristics, surroundings, and value and taste of the clients.

It is very important to say about accessibility as for the commercial building, because we need to think about how users get to the site and enter the building. The site has a limitation in that sense which the front road pulledback from the site. However, it can also provide a good condition for creative design during overcoming its limitation. After having a general idea for the site and the clients’ needs, value, and the budget, the advantage of the site should be maximized; the effort to overcome the bad condition is required with feasible concrete plan. Design quality of the space will measure users’ experience and behavior. No doubt on its significance for commercial facilities. Then how do we attract people into the site and inside of the building?

The architect seeks for a dynamic mass design which gives users interesting experience by looking in different distances and views. Efforts on searching its uniqueness of the building through characteristics of exterior and interior space with tight project budget; analyzing how to connect surrounding environment with the lake view and Mt.Mubong to the site can finally lead the solutions of building’s plan and shape of design. Maximizing the floor area for the first level and leaving some terrace space for seasonal program on the second level is a good way to use the site. What about creating space from connecting circulation that opens to visitors from main road and back-side road? What kind of method can we use for extending external circulation to inside space? A bridge is created to connect two buildings owned by two otherwise-minded clients, and hallway in planned on courtyard side. In other words, we create a road inside of building which naturally connects to the main circulation passing through two entrances and open space. This interesting in-and-out circulation surrounds the buildings and creates the courtyard. To provide efficient daylight for the two buildings and to appear main entrance on the road side smoothly, the courtyard is designed as a slanted square, rather than static perfect square which can give a sense of stillness, but also boring ambience for a commercial building. Combining the irregular shape of site and a penetrating walkway creates a wriggling mass that naturally stands on the site. Through the dynamic shape of the building and the pedestrian way,various exciting outer and inner space offers visitors fun and interesting spatial experience when they get to any destination in the building and it enhances the moments of this place. To attain a balance of design, the big picture frame should be drawn in diverse and detailed ways. Creating well-designed and convenience building from many complex architectural considerations: site condition, client’s realistic circumstance, an impressive look as a commercial building, touching in and outside of architectural moments both owner and users want, and so on… is not combining extra masses, but trimming as a concise form of architecture.

We look forward art and architectural design that moves users’ sensibility can be more introduced to small scale commercial facilities.