CONC

CONC : CONtext (re)Creation

Context
The site, located in the Yangnam region of Gyeongju, famous for its columnar joints (particularly, famous for its fan-shaped columnar joints and designated as a natural monument), it faces the East Coast Road (which connects the north and south along the east coast) to the west, and it faces Padosori-gil (which runs along the area where columnar joints are formed from Eupcheon Port to Haseo Port) to the east, and it faces the Columnar Joint Observatory across the Padosori-gil.
And the east coast road on the west side and Padosori-gil on the east side form a height difference of about 3~4 meters.
The building to be formed here, had to have natural accessibility from these two roads, and it had to be an appropriate architectural landscape on both roads, and it had to be functionally and spatially harmonized without compromising the architectural function of the existing columnar joint observatory as much as possible.

Creating new context
Considering the locational and functional characteristics of the coastal cafe space first, the building was arranged in a fan-shaped shape (like the shape of a fan-shaped columnar joint) so that the inner space of the building could be closest to the east coast.
We put a low height mass (that physically and spatially connects the existing columnar joint observatory and the parking space on the west side of the site) at the center of the building, but the axis of the columnar joint observatory and the axis of the central mass are arranged to avoid damaging the presence and view of the columnar joint observatory.
The floor of the 1st floor accommodates the height differences on the west and east sides of the site, was planned in multiple stages in the order of tiered seating space - main cafe space - external deck and water space.
And, the eastern side entrance were placed close to the entrance of the columnar joint observatory, so that the physical distance between the observatory and the cafe space could be reduced.
Going up to the second floor along the two stairs formed in the mass that rises on both sides of the building, there are spaces that contain the East Sea scenery, where the settlement and movement coexist inside and outside.
These acts of movement and settlement also leads to the roof of the building, there is an external staircase on the roof space that allows to pass through the functionally and formatively generated mass shape of the building (as if it resembles a naturally raised columnar joint), and there is a rooftop space with a distant view of the columnar joint coast.

Re-Creation ⇒ Recreation !
We hope that this building, which was planned and formed according to the location context of the site and the functional characteristics of the building use, could be a landscape in which the columnar joint observatory seen through the mass seams from the East Coast Road.
At the Padosori-gil, we hope that it will function as a mixture of various settlements and empirical movements that are closely connected to the columnar joint coast, observatory, and cafe space.
And, we hoped that these architectural landscapes and the space of "CONC" will be able to play its role as a new recreational venue along with columnar joints in Yangnam, Gyeongju.

Location : 412-1,412-4 Eupcheon-ri, Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea
Program : Neighborhood facility(Cafe)
Site area : 2,853.0㎡
Building area : 567.14㎡
Gross floor area : 761.97㎡
Building scope : 2F
Structure : RC
Exterior finishing : Exposed Concrete
Design period : 2019. 11 – 2020. 07
Construction period : 2021. 02 – 2021. 12
Completion : 2021. 12

Architect : MIND ARCHITECTS
Structural engineer : Base Structural Engineering
Mechanical engineer : Hanbit Safety Engineering
Ｅlectrical engineer : Hanbit Safety Engineering
Construction : Shinheung General Construction Co.,Ltd
Photographer : Jun-yeol Ryu