Low rise commercial buildings in Seoul give new meaning to the term 'mixed-use'. Any number of various programs fill small buildings (often 3-4 floors in height avoiding the requirements of elevator service) in the cities densely packed commercial zones. Many of the stores and shops on the upper floors are accessed through a single entry corridor and stair which, in many cases is continuously open to the street.
While these buildings are clearly private places corridor extensions of the public sidewalk create a gray zone not fully private and not totally public. These unconditioned spaces take on an urban appearance becoming caked and coated with the qualities and scars of sidewalk life. They present an interesting argument for an all together publicly accessible city intertwined within privatized constructs.
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