Hupyeong-ri Residence

A quiet village where a dozen or so farmhouses are scattered and a pear orchard, beginning at the foot of a low hill, stretches into the village.

Along a road narrow enough that you must pull aside and wait when a car comes the other way, we reached the planned site only at the very foot of the hill.

House design is always a hard assignment. Before even considering the formal composition, there are countless elements to fit together — circulation and the family's fixed, varied demands. The site has no level difference, but as it sits midway on the slope running from the rear hill down to the village, the sectional arrangement was conceived so as not to break the rhythm of the slope.

Two blocks are set parallel, the rear block raised one level to respond to the slope. The gap between the two masses is the main material of the composition, intended to make the resulting form linear; the H-beam dividing upper and lower in the elevation, and the light set before the living room, are part of this.

To make the volume look larger than its fixed area (60 pyeong) — the client's request — the structure was exposed along the rear site boundary and the second floor set upon it. The left and right facades set two nearly square boxes offset against each other, with a split arc forming the roof. The structure before the living room intends a double picture frame within, lending an artificial composition to the village scene below.

Despite the client's frequent overseas trips, much was discussed by international call and fax; it was a project carried out with great passion by client and architect alike.