Donamdong Housing

Being one of the oldest residential districts in Seoul, Donamdong is

comprised of many small lots sized for single family Hanoks.

The challege of the project was in defining a geometry within a highy irregular shaped

site composed of ten small size lots including two existing Hanoks planned for demolition.

The design strategy was to redefine the boundary by aligning the main mass with the street,

and freeing up the inner courtyard as a mediator between the new building and existing Hanoks.

Although the initial program was to provide maximum space of rental housing units,

the site strategy allowed the courtyard to include gallery space on the ground floor,

activating the cultural activities that introduced new cultural use for the existing Hanoks to be preserved.