Staircase House Bang Kyun Yu in South Korea

Project: Staircase House
Architects: Bang Kyun Yu
Location: South Korea
Area: 1,280 sq ft
Year: 2022
Photography by: Kwon Sik Jun

Staircase House Bang Kyun Yu in South Korea

This mountain-side house seamlessly integrates with its natural surroundings. Its square bar construction, combining simplicity and functionality, connects various living zones to terraces using variations in natural lighting. Inspired by the nearby retaining wall, the exterior includes glass blocks for inconspicuous openings that reduce visual weight. The result is a harmonious blend of dwelling and its impressive natural environment.

Location

The site is located on a mountainside, at an elevation of 520 meters above sea level and surrounded by several layers of land resembling terraced rice fields. From here, a full 360° view of the surroundings is possible. To the south, the sea lies about 50 km away; to the north, a mountain enclosed by a stone wall (built from local rocks), and dense forest cover the western side. The road leads steeply to the summit, then descends again, passing through new residential plots and ending in a dead-end road going downward.

Space

The clients, a modest couple, had no specific functional design requirements; they were, however, completely open-minded. In this case, I created a whole-day scenario based on movement inside and outside the building, separated from physical ground conditions. This ultimately led to an ambiguous form. Being in nature, the form should be simple, and materials must appear as if they have long existed alongside surrounding elements. The simple form of square bars provides certain linear functionality. Since the plot was not large, the bars were curved into the earth like sponges. The curved parts of the square bar become a path (stairs) connecting the second floor, like a folding fan. The curved parts rise to create the main entrance frame.

On the eastern wall, sections were removed to allow morning sunlight into sleeping areas. Continuous linear space transitions into bedrooms, living room and dining room on the second floor, then finishes with a guest room at the top of the dining area without walls. Balconies of bedroom spaces, terraces of living room and guestroom terrace demonstrate movement between internal and external space. Sky lanterns and light wells, creating variations in lighting, change according to relationships between each space, by season and over time, enriching and adding depth to the narrow and long but simple interior space.

Materials

The solid retaining wall in the background deeply influences the house's square masses; the same DNA of the stone wall was transferred to the house shell. Initially, patterns on the stone wall were standardized to cover the entire facade. Small gaps in the stone wall are replaced with glass blocks, creating inconspicuous light openings and reducing perception of structural weight. The rough texture of the stone wall removes the outer shell of square masses, creating uniformity while introducing a light red color to enhance the scene. This attempt also aims at establishing genetic homogeneity between the visible landscape from ground level and new square masses.

-Bang Kyun Yu