* 비움으로 빚어낸 빛의 서사 [ Leckie Studio ] Lantern House

"The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building." — Louis Kahn

Leckie Studio-Lantern House

과감한 덜어냄, 그리고 빛의 획득
레키 스튜디오(Leckie Studio)가 설계한 밴쿠버의 '랜턴 하우스(Lantern House)'는 덜어냄으로써 비로소 채워지는 미니멀리즘의 미학을 가장 극적으로 증명합니다. 이 주택의 핵심은 2개 층을 관통하며 시원하게 뚫린 거대한 보이드(Void) 공간입니다. 이는 현대 주거 건축에서 보기 드문 과감한 승부수라 할 수 있습니다. 주거 공간에서 가장 아쉬운 기능적 면적을 기꺼이 덜어내는 결단을 통해, 공간 전체를 지배하는 독보적인 분위기를 얻었기 때문입니다. 레키 스튜디오는 이러한 철학을 타협 없이 밀어붙였습니다. 가로세로 약 3미터에 달하는 목재 랜턴 구조물이 1층을 뚫고 솟아오르면서, 침실을 하나 더 둘 수 있었던 공간은 빛을 포착하는 수직의 코어(Core)로 다시 태어났습니다. 비워진 이 공간은 이제 73평 남짓한 주택 전체의 정서적 울림을 조율하는 지휘자가 됩니다.

대지와의 대화: 맥락적 스며듦
건축적 여정은 대지 경계선에서부터 시작됩니다. 인위적인 조경 대신 태초부터 그곳에 있었을 법한 야생의 초원이 콘크리트와 스터코, 목재가 빚어낸 거친 물성을 부드럽게 감싸 안습니다. 덕분에 건축물은 땅 위에 군림하는 것이 아니라, 풍경 속에서 자연스럽게 솟아난 듯한 인상을 줍니다. 이러한 '계산된 겸손'은 매스의 형태에서도 드러납니다. 밴쿠버의 오래된 주택과 새로운 주택이 섞여 있는 지역적 맥락을 고려해, 건물의 스케일과 비율을 세심하게 조절함으로써 주변 환경에 스며들기를 택했습니다. 이는 자신의 존재감을 드러내되 도시의 풍경 속으로 은근히 녹아드는, 고도로 절제된 '맥락적 위장' 전략입니다.

물성의 대비가 만드는 공간의 깊이
내부로 들어서면 재료의 극적인 대비가 공간의 작동 원리를 명확히 보여줍니다. 현관 전실(Mudroom)에서는 손끝에 닿을 듯 거친 질감의 플라스터 벽면이 정밀하게 가공된 매끈한 수납장과 만납니다. 노출 콘크리트 위에 놓인 에도 시대의 꽃병과 그 안에 꽂힌 꽃가지처럼, 이 집은 곳곳에서 '정제된 것'과 '날것'을 나란히 두며 묘한 긴장감과 조화를 만들어냅니다. 1층의 메인 공간은 프레임이 거의 없는 유리 슬라이딩 도어를 통해 뒷마당으로 확장되며, 실내와 외부의 경계를 투명하게 지워냅니다.

빛과 시간의 안무
거실 중앙에는 바닥 레벨을 낮춘 '성큰 라운지(Sunken seating area)'가 자리합니다. 도널드 저드(Donald Judd)의 본질적 조형 미학에서 영감을 받은 가구가 놓인 이곳은, 기하학적 명료함으로 거실의 무게중심을 차분하게 잡아줍니다. 이 집의 이름이기도 한 수직의 랜턴은 그 존재를 서서히, 그리고 극적으로 드러냅니다. 아래에서 올려다보면 거대한 천창은 흘러가는 구름을 액자처럼 담아내며 명상적인 풍경을 선사합니다. 붙박이 데이베드에 누워 하늘을 바라보는 경험은 이 공간의 백미입니다. 목재로 짜인 랜턴 구조물은 정교하게 계산된 인공미와 자연광을 결합해, 낮과 밤의 흐름에 따라 시시각각 변화하는 빛의 춤을 보여줍니다. 벽체와 천장 사이의 섬세한 틈새 디테일은 미니멀리즘 특유의 간결함을 유지하면서, 빛이 공간 안에서 더욱 자유롭게 노닐도록 돕습니다.
Write by Claude & Jean Browwn

Lantern House is a minimalist residence located in Vancouver, Canada, designed by Leckie Studio. A double height void carved into the center of a home represents one of residential architecture’s most deliberate gestures – the sacrifice of functional square footage for atmospheric effect. Leckie Studio commits fully to this gambit in Lantern House, where a 10-foot-by-10-foot wooden lantern rises through the main floor, transforming what could be additional bedroom space into a light-capturing core that orchestrates the emotional tenor of the entire 2,600-square-foot dwelling.

The approach begins at the property line. A deliberately wild meadow surrounds the brutalist form of concrete, stucco, and wood, creating the impression that the structure materialized within an existing landscape rather than imposing upon it. This calculated humility extends to the massing itself, which defers to the mixed vernacular of old and new homes in the Vancouver neighborhood through careful attention to scale and proportion. The strategy is one of contextual camouflage – assertive in its minimalism but restrained in its urban presence.

Inside, material contrasts establish the home’s operative logic. Warm plaster walls meet precision milled cabinetry in the entry mudroom. An Edo period vase holds budding branches on bare concrete – the juxtaposition of refinement and rawness that will recur throughout. The main floor opens to reveal nearly frameless glass sliders spanning the rear elevation, dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior living spaces. At the center, a sunken seating area features custom furnishings inspired by Donald Judd’s elemental forms, grounding the space with geometric clarity.

The vertical lantern reveals itself gradually. From below, it functions as a meditative focal point, its enormous skylight framing passing clouds for contemplation from a built in daybed. The wooden structure glows with calibrated artifice and natural light, creating shifting atmospheric conditions that mark time throughout the day and night. Recessed details and shadow gaps maintain the visual clarity essential to minimalist rigor while allowing light to perform its choreographed role.

from leibal