Sly House / URCODE Architecture

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: URCODE Architecture
Area: 261 m²
Year: 2013
Photographs:Kyung sub, Shin

Text description provided by the architects. There are two different ways of facing to nature in this design.

Firstly, viewing the nature itself is the one, and emphasizing on having the nature in the garden is the other. As it can be seen on photos, the building wraps the garden, and stands a backdrop of the road. It includes both the natural and the urban setting.

Generally, Korean housing system characterizes the facade of the building face to the garden. However, instead of following Korean housing system, I intended to have the nature; garden more privately. Creating an introspective posture that creates the views from the inside rather than from the outside. This kind of design gives the atmosphere of effectiveness of contrast. Unlike facade of huge building itself, the garden looks cosier.

Sly House / URCODE Architecture - Door, Facade — © Kyung sub, Shin

There are two households in this house; parents live the ground floor and their youngest son and daughter in law live in first floor. Both spaces are perfectly divided.

Sly House / URCODE Architecture - Windows — © Kyung sub, Shin

These are their requirements;

l The place must be divided

l The building should be faced to south so that the sun streams can into the rooms

Sly House / URCODE Architecture - Lighting — © Kyung sub, Shin

l For saving maintenance cost, use photovoltaic facilities: “barrier free zone”

l The ground floor should be the universal design for using wheelchair

l The living room of a ground floor should have high ceiling

l The dress room in the first floor need to be bigger than standard size

l Each floor need to have two rooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen

Except these requirements, they need to reduce the user’s movement to a minimum, and have a good ventilation system. Hence, I ask them to have windows in two opposite walls, so windows are facing to each other for good ventilation. Plus, the impact of the sun path was carefully studied as well. Consequently, the plan looks narrow and long; also the entrance locates between a living room and a kitchen which reduces the circulation spaces. Using the contrast effects, the house looks plentiful. A panoramic view spreads out through the small entrance, and it connotes richness and variety of the space. Hence it is surrounded by the natural setting and various tones that the sunlight gives to the space.

The exterior of the house used spraying stone which applied to EIFS(외단열시스템) with zinc. It decreases dew condensation and thermal bridge break.

Sly House / URCODE Architecture - Stairs, Facade, Windows — © Kyung sub, Shin

There is no obstacle for the wheelchair in the garden. Literally it is barrier free zone. And the rest of places set for the little kitchen garden and grass. For the kitchen garden, I used gabion for dividing sections, and in the garden, there is a wall which can be used a big film screen. This screen wall dedicated to the wife who studied film.