an architectural vanishing act, the disappearance of the vernacular home

ask any kid to draw a house, and chances are they’ll start with a rectangle and inevitably draw three lines on top — uncomplicated, but a realization that robert venturi would no doubt delight in. this notion of a house transcends culture and location, and manifests itself in two simple shapes, i.e. the vernacular home. this idea is was the starting point for architect kim seongyoul of rieuldorang atelier when designing the ‘manhwaricano’ home in korea.

all images by joonhwan yoon

‘I started designing with the question of how architecture can enter the world of emotion,’ kim seongyoul describes. the architect wanted to discover beauty from ordinary things — like simple geometric shapes — and this is just what he and his team accomplished with this project. this design uses the shape of the ‘idea of a home’ to create a negative space in a complex and beautiful project; thus offering a poetic reading of the average inhabitance. 

the gable shape creates a passageway through the building 

all that remains of this old vernacular notion is the footprint it once occupied and the ideas it left behind. the vacated space in the form of a gable becomes a sequence leading into the house. kim seongyoul asserts that history is a part of any project and that architecture, like art, always fits in this eternal timeline.

light floods through the canopy overhead 

the ‘manhwaricano’ home in korea

the architect wanted to discover beauty from ordinary things, like simple geometric shapes

the design uses the shape of the ‘idea of a home’ 

a negative space in a complex and beautiful project is created

a poetic reading of the average inhabitance is offered 

kim seongyoul asserts that history is a part of any project

architecture, like art, always fits in an eternal timeline

the vacated space in the form of a gable becomes a sequence leading

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project info: 

project name: manhwaricano
architecture firm: rieuldorang atelier
lead architects: kim seongyoul
project location: manhwa-ri, dudong-myeon, ulju-gun ulsan, south korea
completion year: 2017
gross built area (square meters or square foot): 144.25m²
photo credits: yoon, joonhwan
other participants: lee hansae