© Yong-joon Choi

• Architects: Betwin Space Design
• Location: South Korea
• Design Directors: Jung-gon Kim, Hwan-woo Oh
• Design Team: Sun Kim, Hye-jin Yang, Su-in Lee, Dae-hyun Lee
• Client : KGC
• Area: 220.9 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Yong-joon Choi

© Yong-joon Choi

“Two years for gathering energy of the earth with the sounds of water, wind and human footstep, and six years for looking after ginseng. Six-year-old Red Ginseng nourished by the devotion of KGC (Korea Ginseng Corporation) for eight years. ”Opened on the first floor of KT&G (Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation) Tower last August, Café Sapoon Sapoon expresses the advertising copy of Cheong-Kwan-Jang implicatively. Sapoon Sapoon is a compound word of Saponin, main ingredient of red ginseng, and Spoon, a tool to deliver taste and nutriment of food. As Sapoon also means ‘a figure of light and careful step’ and ‘light and refreshing state of body and mind’ in pure Korean word, people can feel refreshing scenery with light beverage. 

© Yong-joon Choi

Sapoon Sapoon is a casual space created by KGC in order to be free from the perception, ‘Red ginseng is nothing but health functional food’, while keeping credibility of company and its quality-first spirit. Betwin Space Design grafted traditional ideology of Cheong-Kwan-Jang on this café modernly. They applied two elements, ‘Nature’ and ‘Lab’ to the space for delivering the products produced obstinately for a long time to young customers intimately. They obtained the motif from the scenery of ginseng field. All the natural elements composing the field such as wooden structure for screening sunlight, shading curtain, wind, and hilly spot become design elements of Sapoon Sapoon. Sculpture on the ceiling which overwhelms the space secretly symbolizes the wooden structure to control the quantity of sunlight. Fabric which surrounds the repetitive sculptures is a metaphor of shading curtain, which penetrates the light while fluttering naturally in the wind. And they created various shapes of seats, reflecting customers’ extensive needs for seat. 

© Yong-joon Choi

Floor Plan

© Yong-joon Choi

It also applied the element of ‘earth’ through the design method to put wood on concrete or to compose diverse levels. Outdoor terrace has chairs and backs formed only by level difference, which is extended to inside organically. Along table in the middle expresses the feeling of earth only with the matter property of concrete, and plants are placed on it here and there. Lower part of front bar patternizes the figure of spreading ginseng roots in three dimensions, a sculpture behind the bar displays professionalism and credibility with piping equipment for Cold Brew and materials reminding of laboratory.

© Yong-joon Choi

http://ift.tt/2ef6qKn

© Christopher Alexander

• Architects: Rara Architecture
• Location: Clifton Hill VIC 3068, Australia
• Architect In Charge: Wesley Spencer
• Area: 208.0 sqm
• Project Year: 2016
• Photographs: Christopher Alexander , Alison McWhirter Photography

• Structural Engineer : John Kyrgios Building Surveyor – AABP
• Land Survey : Brian Watson Energy Rating – BEAC
• Soil Report : Indepth Geotech Builder –Precision Building Solutions Styling – Mila Jarvis

© Christopher Alexander

From the architect. Our mission was to reinstate the old home’s glory through highlighting it’s simplistic characteristics and its overall form. We stripped it right back to a neutral state. The height of the rear addition had the potential to dwarf the original heritage home, so, sympathetically, we mimicked the roof angle, but didn’t hide it. Nothing about the addition is ‘trying to hide’ anything. The old building transitions smoothly to the new, visually and emotionally, both internally and externally – the old floorboards transition to a new polished concrete slab, the old weatherboards transition to a perforated brick wall (outlining the central Zen garden) and then again to a solid brick wall. The addition, which can

© Christopher Alexander

be enjoyed from the rear lanes and from within the property stands proud, like the existing Edwardian; it stands high, and strong without any exaggeration or excess, it is brutal, minimal and statuesque: a monolith.

© Christopher Alexander

Our client hired us knowing the value an architect can add to the quality of their space. Bianca pushed us really hard to getting an exceptional work of architecture and not something easy they could ‘pull off’ as owner builders. This licensed us to explore some challenging design ideas that were pushed around in council for a while and was quite challenging structurally.

Ground Floor Plan

The result is outstanding. It’s a humble house, with a simple and modest extension that meets the highest standards – everything is considered. With a variety of different spaces to enjoy and storage for everything. No one would guess there were two toddlers living in the space.

© Alison McWhirter Photography

The front half is a fully refurbished double fronted weatherboard Edwardian with a calm grey palette that really celebrates the old. The new mimics the striking form of the Edwardian, while employing the use of modern materials built to last. The design intent is to make the space feel endless and not confined; to be able to see right through the house, regardless of where you are. The new open plan living and dining areas boast ample space for entertaining by eliminating the island bench. The client wanted to pack away the amenities behind a wall; so we gave her exactly that.

1st Floor Plan

Upstairs, we managed to avoid frosted windows by dropping fixed windows to the floor (more interactive for the children), while having the openable windows above 1.7m. The raked cathedral ceilings make the space feel larger than it is in the playroom/study area.

The site is less than 300sqm, making it difficult to design a functional 3 bedroom family home with enough subsidiary space for each family member that meets today’s market expectations. So we decided to forget about the market’s expectations and make a truly beautiful space that did all of those things simply and perfectly and suited for a family.

© Alison McWhirter Photography

The result is a space that feels like it’s floating. Externally, the facade dons only a slim line window ribboning the bottom leaving a brilliantly blank monolithic wall looming over the back yard. 

© Alison McWhirter Photography

Product Description. We choose to use Cemintel Barestone for the 1st floor extension cladding as we wanted something substantial while also low maintenance and cost effective. We love that it’s lightweight, comes in large sheets and is easy to install. The finish of the compressed fiber cement panels has an impressive concrete feel to it and is crisp and elegant making the overhanging extension look proud and monolithic, which the project was named after.

http://ift.tt/2eux1Bw