studio_GAON recreates the story of choco luce in gonju, south korea

in the korean city of gonju, a charming chocolatery named choco luce finds its nest. owned by a foreign couple, lucia and johan, it was built by the husband next to ‘lucia’s earth’ — a space provided to study and consume tea. the building is roofed with blue tiles and situated adjacent to the fence and garden of ‘lucia’s earth’. yet given the chocolatery’s original conditions, south korean practice studio_GAON was invited to recreate the architectural narrative of the space.

bird’s eye view of choco luce
all image courtesy of studio_GAON

‘once a law professor at a university, johan had an indefinite aspiration to make chocolate. he then became influenced by lucia reviving the desolate alleyway and its garden, and decides to become a chocolatier. as he decided to leave behind his profession to pursue his dream, like fate (…) the next-door house came onto the market’, reveals studio_GAON.

a few years back, lucia revitalized an old house and its garden –that were empty of residents for a long time– and turned it into ‘lucia’s earth’. as a result, the vacant alleyway has become inhabited by many visitors. gradually, flimsy foliage emerged and flowers bloomed from the garden –making the nearby block grow into ‘the alleyway where dragonflies came around to play’. yet, the city of gonju has been witnessing a gradual decrease of its  population for many years, and  it is unsure how the wife’s cafe has contributed to bring back the pulse into the ancient citizenry.

the context shows an enclosed space, defined by taller buildings

the choco luce house resembled a hanok (traditional korean home), and was built in 1960. however it was nothing like ‘lucia’s earth’, where the owner  tried to preserve the original form and lengthen its life span. the chocolatery space was patched up with age and its anatomy was transformed with the years: wooden pillars and earth walls were covered with cement and the roof was covered in dull blue metal tiles. there was a lack of unanimity in the house, and tall buildings enclosed the place –making the different elements sit awkwardly together.

‘the sense of amenity present in a mature house was abruptly overthrown by a set of coarse attempts to re-fashion the house, which paradoxically left the space empty of spirit’, explains studio_GAON.


entrance facade of choco luce

studio_GAON began working on the house when john had left to attend a chocolate-making workshop in seoul. during the process, they were contemplating what sort of narrative should unfold within the space. eventually, the most important thing was to bring in the affection of johan’s dream into the old house. the antagonistic finishing of the original outer wall was kept and reinforced with a little interpretation; it was in fact refurbished with a built-in frame to mimic the dark skinned and smooth chocolate surface. wooden floors and walls were washed, padded up, and repainted. the red bricks were laid down in the garden, evenly distributed to allow foliage to grow out from the in-between spaces.

exterior view — warm lights during evening time

the L-shaped configuration of the choco luce

textures and details that evoke an intimate local character

vibrant colors of choco luce are highlighted during daytime

technical plans

sections

elevations

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom

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