Hasta La Ideas

After being asked to create “the most outstanding building in the region”, Korean architect Moon Hoon inserted a protruding balcony within the curving frontage of this music agency in the South Korean city of Seongnam (+ slideshow).

Moon Hoon designed the K-Pop Curve building for a site in the Baekhyeon-dong district of Seongnam. The streetscape typically comprises commercial units at ground floor level and residences above, so the architect created accommodation for a music agency in the ground floor and basement, and compact apartments in the top two storeys.

Influenced by the plot’s location at the intersection of two streets and the client’s request to produce a building with a unique character, the architects created a curved facade that sweeps around the corner and a viewing platform known as the stage.

“The project was pretty much unrestricted, apart from the two requests: to create the most outstanding building in the entire region, and to make the rooftop spacious enough to accommodate parties,” said Moon Hoon.

The curving concrete wall is suspended from the building’s core structure, with the gap between the two surfaces used as a circulation area leading up to the roof.

Sections spliced from the smooth external shell permit views of the street from inside the property and reveal the shape of a staircase that ascends around the corner.

“My biggest concerns for the project were to maximise its character corner in the most impressive manner possible, and to create a natural flow of circulation leading up to the structure’s rooftop,” said the architect.

This facade is interrupted by the stage – a tiered balcony that projects over the pavement below. Enclosed within a rectangular frame, it can be accessed from the staircase that begins at the corner of the building next to one of the ground floor entrances.

Stepped seating has also been built into alcoves in the inside wall of the staircase, from which the gap in the concrete surface frames views of the surrounding neighbourhood.

A large roof terrace was created for hosting parties, featuring an arching concrete canopy and glass balustrade around its edge.

The first floor contains a single apartment with a balcony that pokes out over the rear of the stage, while the second floor is divided into two smaller residences.

The apartment at the rear of the property features an angular cantilevered balcony framed by projecting concrete walls.

A staircase lined with reflective silver tiles leads to the basement level, which adjoins a small outdoor patio.

Read on for more information from Moon Hoon:

K-Pop Curve

Baekhyeon-dong is divided in almost equal parts by its main cafe street. The buildings in the surrounding areas are similarly subdivided by their function; the lower and ground levels are commercial, and the first and second levels are typically residential.

Amidst this sea of homogeneity, these structures engage in a quiet struggle for distinction, through the variation of form and materials, Of these, the building at street address number 582 is a music agency owned by an IT company. Sitting at a fortuitous corner, it serves as a rare contrast to the numerous other constructions in Baekhyeon-dong that fail to make the most of their locations.

The project was pretty much unrestricted, apart from the two requests: to create the most outstanding building in the entire region, and to make the rooftop spacious enough to accommodate parties. My biggest concerns for the project were to maximise of its character, corner, in the most impressive manner possible, and to create a natural flow of circulation leading up to the structure’s rooftop.

Amongst a variety of options, I chose to go with curved walls, which created the illusion of two-side walls forming a continual whole, as well as two different roads appearing as one. The resulting scene played out have a unique design, as well as linking the building to its context.

A stage was inserted into the curved surface, next to the stairs climbing up to and above it, here moulding the streets into seats for the audience and the staircase as alcoves.

Architect: Moonbalsso (Moon Hoon)
Project team: Kim Sookhee, Jang Dukhyun, Kim Taehyeong, Lee byungyeup, Song Juneui
Location: 582, Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Programme: multi use building and multiplex house
Site area: 264.7 sqm
Building area: 131.74 sqm
Gross floor area: 435.85 sqm
Height: 13.68m
Structure: RC
Exterior finish: exposed concrete
Interior finish: ceramic tile, wallpaper
Structure engineering: Power
Construction: Jehyo
Mechanical/Electric engineer: Guekdong engineering
Client: Plantynet Co. Ltd.

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