moon hoon completes MARS building in south korea with its own 'mini pantheon'

moon hoon has completed a mixed-use building that contains three residences in the middle of a new urban development in hwaseong, a city in south korea’s gyeonggi province. the project is titled ‘MARS’, a name that not only references the new district’s somewhat barren landscape, but also the name of the city. ‘hwaseoung shares the same sound as ‘mars’ in korean, thus the name for the project,’ explains the architect.

all images by kim changmook

moon hoon says that the project’s client wanted a unique building that was not conventional in any way. the multi-purpose structure not only contains the client’s own house, but two additional dwellings as well commercial space to be rented out. the project’s initial design concept was a mobile habitat for exploring the red planet. stacked and conjoined like 3D puzzles, each floor is independent and has a unique geometry evoking movement and its imaginary context.

the first floor is rectangular and open, providing flexibility for commercial users, while the storey above contains two houses. one is a three-bedroom house that provides flexibility and transparency through sliding doors. the second residence on this level is a one bedroom apartment. meanwhile, the uppermost storey has been designed for the client himself. this residence has been conceived as a ‘small and symbolic universe where spaceships and planets are mingled haphazardly’.

here, a spherical space has been designed as a ‘mini pantheon‘ within the context of a house. meanwhile, angled floor plates result in a dynamic spatial experience that also seek to provide a ‘false sensation of gravity’. ‘the special client with the right architect can travel to the land of fantasies and imaginations, where names denote other things, and where shapes evoke other dimensions and time,’ says moon hoon. ‘I believe we have been doing this by erecting houses for gods and other entities throughout history.’

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project info:

name: MARS
architect: moon hoon (moonbalsso + mooyuki)
project team: yun seong bong, park sang hyeok, park ki-bum, park ji won, choi sang min
location: 14-26, dongtansunhwan-daero 16-gil, hwaseong-si, gyeonggi-do, republic of korea
program: multi use building
site area: 264 sqm (79.86py)
building area: 151.09 sqm (45.7py)
gross floor area: 432.71 sqm (130.89py)
building to land ratio: 57.23%
floor area ratio: 163.91%
building scope: 1F – 3F
structure: RC structure
exterior finish: steel plate
interior: wood flooring, wall paper, paint finish
structure engineering: SDM
construction: CNC construction
mechanical/electrical engineering: chung-hyo
design period: 2019. 10 ~ 2020. 1
construction period: 2020. 3 ~ 2020. 12
client: na hong jun
photography: kim changmook