the iconic easter island in chile has almost been erased from history, as it has no clear documentation of its past, and what remains are mysterious moai statues — offering the only evidence of a civilization. following that idea, korean architecture studio l’eau design has gained a similar impression of the samjeon-dong neighborhood in seoul and transforming a building into a contemporary day moai.

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
(above and main) image © kim yongkwan
all courtesy of masilWIDE

 

 

l’eau design has begun with the consideration of a symbiotic structure for a city, including housing created by stacking commercial facilities and residential units on the everyday cultural ground. to elaborate, the site is located at the corner of a village largely populated by four to five-story multiplex housing developments — all of similar size on uniformly planned sites. even though the size and volume of the rectangular sites — each divided by a gridded urban planning — are similar, each site has different conditions. instead of concentrating on a more glossy form to maximize a building’s profile, as found in the many villages of multiplex housing, it is assumed that making a facade adaptable to the conditions on all four sides would create a flexible architecture and resolve the relationship with its surrounding features. 

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

 

 

therefore, the moai building challenges the architectural practice to overcome mismatch and limitations caused by heterogeneity in retail facilities and multiplex housing. the studio hopes that the intervention will enable ‘cultural production and consumption‘ combined with the lightness of an everyday program. in other words, the neighborhood can become a village that encourages families to stroll and allows for everyday, smaller-scale cultures to flourish —  rather than existing as commercial and generic spaces purely for consumption.

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan 

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

l'eau design sculpts moai building as a symbiotic structure in seoul
image © kim yongkwan

 

 

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