Offvoid

Park Youngchae

• Architects

The elements involved in 'building' are very complex. Not only the shape of the ground, but also the location, and even its strength is the cause A commercial building built on the back street of Gangnam, a residential area, inherently faces challenges. Firstly, it must coexist with the exclusive atmosphere of its established neighbors, while respecting the back side, which is still a residential area. The width of the road, the architectural slant line restriction for daylight—balancing these requirements and what must be created on this land is the essence of 'architecting.' That's how the will to design began.

photo_credit Park Youngchae — Park Youngchae

There are two ways to respond to imposed constraints: compliance or creative reinterpretation. Approaching it with the latter method, the initial concept was to tilt the building within the architectural slant line restriction for daylight. I believed that securing one's rights without infringing upon the rights of neighbors is the methodology for 'architecting' in the city. By positioning a private courtyard to the south and starting construction from the north, the problem could be mitigated by tilting it towards the south. However, another challenge emerged: overcoming the unease or resistance towards this unconventional form. Despite completing the design, the inability to realize the result was due in part to a lack of persuasion, but also because the process of 'architecting' could not transcend the bounds of conventional wisdom. Ultimately, the design had to be revisited with a compliant approach. Rather than the initial vision of spaces stacked upon one another, it became a composition of sequentially arranged spaces.

The outcome adhered faithfully to constraints like building coverage, floor area ratio, and the architectural slant line restriction for daylight, resulting in filling rather than vacating. While the variations in height created different rooftop spaces and the small pockets of space at the front had their own reasons, it fell short of what was initially conceived. However, I find consolation in the experiment with the bluish-black color of hot-rolled steel plates for the frames, which was an attempt to create a black frame without obstructing transparency and served as an alternative to voids.