REX architecture: project R6 yongsan international business district

‘project R6’ by REX architecture, yongsan international business district, seoul, korea image © luxigon

new york-based REX architecture has developed ‘project R6’ an urban boutique residence for short-term business people, young urban professionals and foreign tenants located in the dream hub yongsan international business district (YIBD), seoul, korea. due to the transience of its target users and the brief durations for which they are home, the unit sizes are small, measuring 40 m2, 50 m2, and 60 m2.

the tower is situated in a narrow parcel bounded by the mountain park which includes a children’s interactive spray park, rail road museum, outdoor amphitheater, yongsan station esplanade and the central park which is adjacent to hangang-ro area. by placing the building to the south of this block, all units command great views and the structural forms a gateway to the YIBD.

view across courtyard image © luxigon

by pulling layers of the typical housing tower in opposing directions, the small units maintain their size, but are stretched into favorable proportions that provide views and daylight from both sides, cross-ventilation, and creates a sense of community through the development of a central courtyard, roof terraces and conversation/reading/play pods.

the stretched layers are strategically positioned to develop adequate continuity of the building’s primary structure:

a concrete-encased steel mega-brace that encircles the courtyard. the support reinforces a shelf-like matrix of walls and floor slabs that define each dwelling.

each ledge is inserted a wooden shell containing a bathroom on one side and a kitchen on the other.

a movable wall, using standard compact shelving technology, shifts within the unit to define a bedroom which is adjacent to the bathroom or a living room  which adjoins the kitchen. the partition includes a bed, nightstands, a couch, a television mount, task lighting and storage.

floor to ceiling interior facade image © REX

a high-performance exterior and interior facade which is composed of frameless IGUs (insulated glass units) emphasizes the remarkable views while black-out and shade roller blinds control sunlight and glare, providing spatial relief and maintaining privacy.

facade is

composed of frameless IGUs equipped with black-out and shade roller blinds image © REX

high-performance facade image © REX

interior black-out and shade roller blinds control sunlight and glare image © REX

moveable wall in bedroom position, looking out to seoul image © REX

moveable wall in living room position, looking into courtyard image © REX

exterior view image © luxigon

view from hangang-ro area image © luxigon

size of typical units image © REX

typical treatment of unit views, sun and ventilation image © REX

standard housing tower image © REX

tower

concept pulls layers in opposing directions maintaining unit sizes image © REX

form creates

more views, access to daylight and cross ventilation image © REX

sense of community is created through a central courtyard, roof terraces and conversation/reading/play pods image © REX

stretched layers are positioned to maximize daylight image © REX

concrete-encased steel mega-brace enriches courtyard space image © REX

mega-brace supports a shelf-like matrix of walls and floor slabs that defines each unit image © REX

into each shelf is a wooden shell containing a bathroom on one side and a kitchen on the other image © REX

moveable wall image © REX

partition includes a bed, nightstands, couch, television mount, task lights and storage image © REX

unit A2 bedroom floor plan image © REX

unit A2 living room floor plan image © REX

unit B2 bedroom floor plan image © REX

unit B2 living room floor plan image © REX

unit C2 bedroom floor plan image © REX

unit C2 living room floor plan image © REX

residential ‘brace plan’ image © REX

residential ‘brace plan’ with terrace image © REX

residential ‘horseshoe plan’ image © REX

residential ‘horseshoe plan’ with terrace image © REX

residential ‘loop plan’ image © REX

amenities plan image © REX

section image © REX

site plan image © REX

community and spatial reliefs image © REX

detail of cross-ventilation image © REX

project info:

client: dreamhub project financing vehicle co., ltd. program: 47,800 m2 luxury housing for short-term residents, 27,000 m2 of retail and 929 parking stalls area: 115,500 m2 construction budget: confidential status commenced: 2011 completed schematic design: 2012 completion: expected 2016 design architect: rex key personnel: tiago barros, adam chizmar, danny duong, luis gil, gabriel jewell-vitale, seokhun kim, armen menendian, romea muryń, roberto otero, se yoon park, joshua prince-ramus, lena reeh rasmussen and yuan tiauriman executive architect: mooyoung consultants: barker mohandas, buro happold, front, level acoustics, magnusson klemencic, scape, shen milsom wilke and tillotson design