Photographer: Yongkwan Kim | ArchDaily

Itami Jun Museum / Itm Yooehwa Architects

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000

This is an art museum dedicated to the late Japanese-Korean architect, The Itami Jun Museum was designed with his architectural philosophy that "architecture should be rooted in and bear fruit from the local context and traditions" in mind, as well as the main architectural languages. By adapting to the Jeju locales, he sought not to disturb the horizontal and serene nature of the surrounding Jeju forest, Gokjawal.

Triplet Code Sinsa Neighborhood Facility / L'EAU design

Miwa Negoro — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:00:00 +0000

Located not far from Garosu-gil, "Triplet Code, Sinsa" is positioned directly facing a small neighborhood park with greenery at the very end of Serosu-gil. The site faces the park, has an elementary school right next to it, and is surrounded by neighborhood shops that extend from Garosu-gil, gradually activating even the back alleys. According to Clarence Perry's Neighborhood Unit theory, the three core elements that promote physical convenience and pleasant living for residents — an elementary school, neighborhood shops, and a small park — are all present in the vicinity, so at first glance, it might seem that the conditions for residents are perfectly met. However, the recent excessive expansion of nearby commercial facilities is likely making the residential environment feel far from comfortable for existing residents. In fact, as Garosu-gil became more trendy and commercialized, gentrification reaching this area had already been anticipated for some time.

FEZH / Itm Yooehwa Architects

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000

FEZH reinterprets the spatial logic of Fes El Bali, where clustered dwellings form the foundation of an organic urban fabric. Drawing from this precedent, the project aspires to create a "minimal urban unit" that consolidates essential communal functions for healing, culture, and everyday life. Within the gentle alleyways of Hannam-dong, FEZH positions itself as a compact city—an intersection of architecture, nature, and human experience—embodying its name, which merges Fez, Healing, and Hannam-dong.

Handong University Prayer Room Heaven's Voice / Itm Yooehwa Architects

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

The prayer room "Heaven's Voice" at Handong University began as a project initiated by a donation from an elder of a local church. While there were several potential sites for a chapel on campus, the current location was chosen without hesitation. To the eyes of the architect, who is also a Christian, the overall shape of Handong University resembled a sheep, and a small hill at its heart caught his attention. This site is strategically positioned, visible from surrounding campus buildings, and the intention was to inscribe the cross from a heavenly perspective, rather than from the human eye level.

SIHOJAE Gallery, Guesthouse, Cafe / Itm Yooehwa Architects

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

'Sihojae' means 'a bow that shoots towards time'. It is a private gallery that doubles as a guesthouse and cafe. The client, an art lover, required a house for himself and a space in which to display his private collection, as well as a guesthouse for his children. At first, the site appeared to be a relaxing, low-lying basin surrounded by mountains. Tired of the multilayered and discordant cityscape of today, I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the beautiful ridge leading up to Palgongsan Mountain. I designed the building with a symphony in mind, playing on the scents and caress of the breeze across this beautiful basin.

Triplet Code Imun Neighborhood Facility / L'EAU design

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 19:00:00 +0000

Just as three different bases of DNA naturally gather to capture already-informed information and create a specific code combination, a vertically stacked neighborhood living facility structure that is not very high also needs an architectural stacked code combination that can naturally accommodate the characteristics of the surrounding area while harmonizing various programs to play a role in the neighborhood.

Cheongdam Carapace / L'EAU design

Miwa Negoro — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Carapace is a term that refers to the hard shell that protects the bodies of animals, such as crustaceans and turtles, primarily in the biological context. It is one of the important defenses each living thing acquired during its evolution, and it protects its body from external threats and safely wraps up important organs inside. The carapace of crustaceans is a hard exoskeleton that covers the head and chest, consisting of chitin, which protects the body from physical damage or predators.

Jetavana Buddhist Temple / Studio GAON

Pilar Caballero — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 23:00:00 +0000

Jetavana Buddhist temple is a house of the Buddha who has reached nirvana, and for the religious seeking to reach nirvana. Two years ago, a monk with a slender body and an intelligent look, came to our office. With very concise and neat remarks, he told us that he was planning to build a Buddhist temple for meditation.

Amytis' Garden / studio_GAON

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 22:00:00 +0000

Around 600 B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon made a garden for his wife Amitis of Media Kingdom in the midst of desert, noticing she got homesick longing for her country’s forest. It is said that the garden was a "hanging garden," that was built not on the ground but on a structure like terraced balconies. The garden was designed so well it felt like walking on regular ground. It is also said that water was drown from the far Euphrates River through water pipes, to continuously feed the plants in its garden. Probably all the advanced techniques of the time were used. Power of love created a garden hanging over the sky in the middle of the desert. It is regrettable that nothing remains, but still it is such a romantic story. This story became starting point.

Design Strategy & Research Center / THE_SYSTEM LAB

Cristobal Rojas — Tue, 02 May 2017 20:00:00 +0000

The characteristics of space where people like Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, The Beatles, and Steve Jobs who delivered innovative thinking and message mostly stayed was freedom and expandability. In their youth, unusual but magnificent and cozy places like barn, storage, factory, and garage were the source of inspiration for their creative thinking. This BARN was an excellent functional and emotional space typology where amplifies ventilation, three dimensional expandability, and emotional inspiration through depth in space.

Sinseol-dong Hanok / CoRe architects

Cristobal Rojas — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:00:00 +0000

Restriction and Development

Dialogue in the Dark Bukchon / Wise Architecture

Cristian Aguilar — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 18:00:36 +0000

Dialogue in the Dark Bukchon is designed for a worldwide exhibition, Dialogue in the Dark. The exhibition in which a visitor experiences everyday life in the complete darkness is an unusual experience. However, as it turns off sense of sight, it turns on other senses. When it ends, each visitor recalls different spaces through its own experiences and memories.

Hannam-Dong HANDS Corporation Headquarters / THE_SYSTEM LAB

Daniel Sánchez — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 23:00:44 +0000

The relationship between the urban landscapes.

KHVatec Headquarter / _SYSTEM LAB

Cristian Aguilar — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 21:00:53 +0000

In 2010, when the architects were invited to the concept design phase, it was widespread that the area including the site would transform into a commercial zone (change in Floor-Area Ratio to occur: 250% - 400%) within next 10 years. The client required three important factors into the design. First, the design should not stand out alone from the neighboring buildings, but still acquire the company¡¯s brand image. Second, to consider that it is IT related company therefore requires high-security, which limits openings. Third, to include a small theater and a gallery for the employees and the public in respect to cultural context that will continue from Seoul Art Center (note that Seoul Art Center is in close proximity of KHvatec Headquarters).

KCC Switchenland Model House / THE_SYSTEM LAB

Daniel Sánchez — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This house directly reflects the first image pops up in people¡¯s head when they hear the word "house" The elevation which looks like a gable roof house cut in half provoke people curiosity. Familiar bed, sofa, and dining tables shown in between polycarboate which remind of fluffy curtain make the viewer imagine a house they want to live in. And they enter into Switzen Land while imagining their future, living in that house.

The Happiness Foundation / THE_SYSTEM LAB

Daniel Sánchez — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Before the discussion of the building as an architectural project, it was most important to understand and recognise The Happiness Foundation's nature as social enterprise. The architects have been persistent from the very beginning with two concepts: contribution to the community, and to create a purposeful space for the users.

Gangnam Commercial Buliding / _SYSTEM LAB

Cristian Aguilar — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Britain`s famous fashion brand Paul Smith is opening its first Asian flagship store in Korea, in Gangnam-a trading center for luxury brands. Considering the fact that the streets here are lined with exclusive stores for premium brands, not to mention that many high-end name-brand designers fiercely compete to open stores in this area, it was quite interesting to see how Paul Smith would make a lasting imprint with its brand of architecture on the local urban environment. We define the main characteristic of Paul Smith`s fashion brand as its ability to draw different responses, depending on the customer`s situation and interpretations.

Lim Geo Dang / IROJE KHM Architects

Nico Saieh — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Traditional but Modern