studio_GAON breathes life into small seoul alleyway with blooming house

studio_GAON breathes life into small seoul alleyway with blooming house
all images courtesy of youngchae park

down a winding alley in the old district of seoul, korea, sat a dilapidated home with a small garden. a man came upon the dwelling while walking one day, and after stopping to appreciate it, decided that he would like to own it. though the plot was merely 66m², and located on a narrow, forgettable alley, it had the potential to be great.

alley 

the owner contacted hyoungnam lim and eunjoo roh of architecture office studio_GAON, with the intent to totally overhaul the structure. however, after a series of unexpected circumstances arose, it became clear that renovation was not possible. the team went back to the drawing board, this time with an even tougher challenge: current korean construction laws, which limits building area to less than 23m² (approx. 250ft²) per floor, and allows only two levels.

‘blooming house’ exterior wall  

yet somehow, a design was created within total legal limit. the final plan, while very small, manages to adequately provide all necessary functions. the ground floor includes the living room, kitchen, and utilities; the second contains the bedroom, bathroom, and full-height bookcase; and a third, ‘attic’ space features a ‘numaru’ balcony and empty area for use in the future.

brick walls and numaru balcony 

to give a bit of variety to the tall, narrow mass studio_GAON fastened a tapered steel bar to the exterior wall. the piece ends beneath a circular cathedral window near the roofline, and creates dynamic shadows throughout the day.

‘blooming house’ profile 

also outside, is a reinvigorated garden. studio_GAON planted several shade plants like bracken and buckler fern, as well as around 50 kinds of wild flowers. an existing persimmon tree shares the small space, whose colors and fruit-bearing mark the seasons. like a flower seed landing and growing spontaneously, the ‘blooming house’ breathes fresh life and beauty into the surroundings. 

korean balcony (numaru) 

aerial view of garden 

looking inwards from main entrance  

front and slider doors  

living room 

‘blooming house’ interior 

kitchen and washing machine 

second floor bookshelf 

bedroom and work space 

attic 

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project info:

architects: hyoungnam lim, eunjoo roh — studio_GAON
project team: minjung choi, joowon moon, sangwoo yi, seongwon son, sungpil lee, hanmoe lee, joowon moon, sunmin park
photography: youngchae park
translation: joowon moon
location: sungbuk-dong, sungbuk-gu, seoul, south korea
use: residential
site area: 76m²
building area: 23.49m²
gross floor area: 46.98m²
building scope: 2F + attic
height: 7.84m
building-to-land ratio: 39.79%
floor area ratio: 79.57%
structure: wood frame structure
finish: brick
construction: starsis – jongguk an
supervision: studio_GAON
design period: 2014.07. – 2015.03
construction period: 2014.09. – 2015. 07

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: nick brink | designboom