Seoul Modern

Modern unassuming in Seoul.

Tucked away in the tertiary neighborhood streets of Gangnam is a residence and office mix. 'Tornado House' (as its dubbed) was completed about 15 years ago by Jun Sung Kim. Jun's work may best be described as elemental. A characteristic expressively clear in this structure. Jun is a master of carving space from weighted form and raw material. It is a dialogue of air, light and form giving way to humbling experience.

The front facade of the mixed use house is unassuming; a simple cube with recessed entry and radial wall. The entry conceals a complex internal organization only slightly hinted by the simple curved form on elevation. The portal entry opens to a split stair configuration. The entry landing as Jun has described poses a moment of choice for visitors- the option to go up or down in the seductively light filled open atrium. Each stair clings closely to two opposing, concrete arching walls.

Light penetrates deep through the central courtyard to the partial subterranean spaces below. Four court terraces link in serpentine fashion following the curved stair around the voided central open space. The delicate metal stair cast against the heavy concrete walls establishes an implied bridge between the current reality of structure and a memory of the once steeply sloped site.

The experience of space through light and form become metaphor for a new internalized landscape.