This Hotel project in Korea is designed by Mass Studies in 2005.

The following information is from the architects:

// Get Away

‘On a breakneck expansion for the past few decades, Seoul needed places in the surrounding areas for its citizens to get away to escape the tension inevitably generated from such condensed development. Add to that the astronomical rise in the number of cars in the past 20 years, and today’s urbanites have both the reason and the means to seek out quiet areas yet untouched by the ravages of development. Unfortunately, the condition was ripe for ill-planned and indiscriminate establishment of ‘motel villages’ and ‘food villages’ in areas proximate to Seoul, including Namyangju (where the proposed hotel is located). As a result, in most of the areas with good accessibility and scenery are ‘pseudo cities’ densely packed with crudely built structures.

The onset of the five-day workweek means that there will be an ever-increasing demand for a greater variety of leisure activities, quality environment and services around large cities.

// Divergence / Covergence

‘A mountain begins from one origin and diverges into 10,000, water has 10,000 origins and converges into one.’ – Shin Gyeongjun, a geologist in the Joseon Dynasty

The site is located in an area where the last one of the myriad branches that spread from the Baekdu ridge line ends and a tributary reaches the Buk Han River. The two endpoints converge here, creating a topography that is at once a border and a transition, where the beginning and end coexist.

Our architectural proposition is to consider the natural environment first, not the surrounding manmade conditions. Our creation should resemble the expansive yet subtle ridge lines and the powerful Han River. It shall be an attempt to reestablish the ‘organic order’ by connecting the building with its natural surroundings. The main challenges facing us are to make the most out of the topographical characteristics of a ‘border area’ and to create a new architectural order that accommodates the ‘transitional’ characteristics of this location.

The proposed building has four components aligned from south to north and facing the Bukhan River. The components are interlinked through internal or external connections at different levels, creating an organic whole. The five-story hotel to the south and the pair of two-story ballroom/mansion buildings to the north each has an entrance and drop-off zone and may be used independently. Between the hotel and the ballroom/mansion buildings stands the amenity/support unit that provides functional support to these buildings while connecting them as one.’

For more pictures visit: www.massstudies.com.