jungle terrace tops schemata architects' FREITAG store in jeju, south korea

jo nagasaka / schemata architects has converted a former burger king outlet in south korea’s jeju island into a FREITAG store by seoul-based design studio and retailer MMMG. located next to the arario museum, the two-story building faces the main street to the south and is clad in glass on both sides so that people walking on the south and north can see each other. the upper level, which was previously used as an outdoor seating area for burger king, now serves as a jungle terrace with a semi-outdoor bar placed at the boundary between exterior and interior.all images by ju yeon lee

schemata architects designed the project in line with arario’s concept of ‘invisible development,’ which aims to create activities in the alleys between buildings. in order to use the ground level as a place for people to freely come and go, the japanese architecture studio added more voids to the existing building and highlighted the pilotis as much as possible. the FREITAG store, which requires an ample interior space and wall storage, is placed on the upper level. ‘we thought that those who would visit this place would surely go up to the second floor if they are curious to see it,’ explains schemata.

about half of the second floor, which was previously used as a terrace seating area for burger king, has been converted into a jungle terrace. ‘there were large black and white tiles in a checkered pattern on the floor, window sashes in the walls with geometric patterns like those on old-fashioned vinyl luncheon mats, and cast iron railings with a cheap-looking plant pattern that resembled the ones sold at home improvement stores,’ notes the tokyo-based studio. ‘the somewhat frivolous pop design of the ’80’s evoked a sense of nostalgia. considering the fact that FREITAG’s products are made from recycled truck tops, seat belts, bicycle tire tubes, car airbags and so on, it made sense to mix the nostalgic and pop space with the new store space as if making a collage.’ a semi-outdoor bar placed on the boundary between the terrace and the interior allows it to come alive and become part of the store.