archihood WxY brings 2 families under one roof for 'doo jip' house in seoul

‘doo jip’ house in seoul, south korea, looks like a single-family home but it’s actually designed for two. realized by archihood WxY, the project posed the tricky challenge of maintaining a degree of privacy between two families while not completely separating them.

images by kyung roh

situated on a hillside, the new house is orientated towards the incredible views out over the surrounding mountains and villages. archihood WxY looked for ways to separate the two families within a single building vertically, in order to utilize the limited area of the site efficiently. the first floor is for the parents who spent time at home during their retirement while the second floor is for the son and wife, who don’t require as much space.

an open courtyard on the first floor serves as a space to connect the families while maintaining two divided areas. openings on the second floor facing the courtyard are installed at a height from which people can see the lower floor only when they get close enough. as a result, a balance between privacy and transparency is established.

the courtyard gives the house easy access to natural light and ventilation. it also connects the interior and exterior of the house and makes the interior space less monotonous. in the middle of the courtyard, there is a water garden filled with broken stones, which turns into a stone garden without water in winter. the design team also preserved the 40-year-old apricot tree that was on the edge of the garden. it’s now the symbol of doo jip house and greets inhabitants when they enter the front door.

on the second floor, where the son and his wife live, a wide terrace and roof garden provide views and natural light. this space is the most popular place for visitors as they can see the cityscape of seoul and mountain scenery on three sides. the second floor terrace also functions to block the sightlines between each household that could potentially compromise privacy.

while the terrace provides the families with a wonderful view, skylights bring warm light into the house from the south. the skylights are sloped to match the shape of the roof. they block direct sunlight in summer while bringing warm natural light in winter.