Currently a hot contender in the running for the new
V&A at Dundee building, New York-based practice
REX was asked to design a residential complex in Songdo Landmark City, Incheon, Korea in which every apartment offers direct southern exposure, cross-ventilation, and views.
Korean zoning guidelines and local building practices typically produce
towers that fail to provide these three key, locally-prized amenities.
Furthermore, prevailing site strategies carve up the open space such
that the result is not the often-advertised “Towers in a Park,” but
anemic “Towers in a Yard” instead.
Block A4 challenges conventional Korean development practices to
provide the key amenities within each unit and a true
publicly-accessible park at grade.
The
façade is designed to combine flexibility with a consistent image.
Depending on the preferences of individual apartment owners, any given
façade opening can be finished as a floor-to ceiling window, an
open-air balcony, or—with the use of a specially-designed manually
operable window—an interior living space during cold months and a
balcony during warm months. (Image: Luxigon)
Korean
towers typically have four or more units per floor. As a result, many
apartments have limited direct light, no southern exposure and poor
cross-ventilation. By splitting a single tower with four units per
floor into four separate towers with only one unit per floor, the
resulting super-slim building type...
...maximizes direct lighting and guarantees southern exposure for every unit,...
...increases cross ventilation,...
...increases views,...
...and even increases ambient light.
Exaggerated visualizations from structural analysis (Image: Magnusson Klemencic Associates)
In conventional four-unit towers, the structural core occupies the center of the floor plate.
The
small floor plate of a super-slim tower allows the structural core to
become the tower perimeter. The resulting stiffened structural tube
opens up the interior and eases space planning.
Surprisingly,
the structural tube can be 50% perforated, as long as all openings are
located to maintain continuous load paths and to minimize lateral
displacement. The dynamic behavior of the perforated structural tube is
well within acceptable standards.
...it
becomes possible to reduce the project build time by 63% compared to
conventional gang-form construction methods. (Image: Magnusson
Klemencic Associates)
In
Korea, gang-form construction is commonly used for the exterior walls
and columns. Traditional concrete construction is used for interior
bearing elements and floor plates. As an alternative, by using
jump-up/Jackdown construction to build the perforated structural
tube,...
Floor plans
Elevations
The
lobby of each tower occupies a double height space accessible from both
grade and parking levels and provides daylight to below-grade community
facilities.
The
prevailing Korean superblock site strategy carves up the open space at
grade with a tangled network of hardscape paths. The resultant pockets
of green space are residual in character and more akin to yards than
park.
By
organizing the landscape at grade into a series of continuous bands,
SLC Block A4 presents an alternative site strategy that will provide an
open, active, pedestrian-friendly park. (Image: Bureau Bas Smets)
All
vehicle access and parking is placed below grade, and the towers are
sited within the parking grid. At ground level, the towers create a
diverse hierarchy of open spaces.
The
primary pedestrian routes are consolidated into only four hardscape
paths, avoiding a patchwork that would, on a site of this size,
disperse and diffuse activity and divide up the green space. (Image:
Bureau Bas Smets)
Project Data:
LOCATION: Incheon, Korea
CLIENT: Songdo Landmark City (SLC)
PROGRAM: Residential towers with a total of approximately 2,000 units, community facilities, retail, and underground parking
AREA: 342,900 m² (3,691,000 sf)
CONSTRUCTION COST: Confidential
STATUS: Completed Concept Design
DESIGN ARCHITECT: REX
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Bureau Bas Smets
EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: HYUNDAI Architects & Engineers; SAMOO Architects & Engineers
KEY PERSONNEL: Adolfo Albaisa, Haviland Argo, E.
Sean Bailey, Keith Burns, Nicolas de Courten, Rob Daurio, Jeremiah
Joseph, Hui Lee, Katharine Meagher, Clinton Miller, Roberto Otero,
Michelle Petersen, Joshua Prince-Ramus, Jacob Reidel, Nikolas Rychen,
Tal Schori, Hala Sheikh, Nuo Xu
CONSULTANT: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
All images courtesy REX unless otherwise noted.
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