House [in white] by AEV Architectures

Description of project by AEV Architectures

White and architecture

White has made modern artists and architects dream. This sought-after «color» touches on the image of purity and abstraction. This cultural and symbolic attachment would be summarized to the fact that white is associated with light and represents serenity, simplicity and transition in many countries and religions. In art, we transcend it, we sacralize it, we see in it a vast field of possibilities for openness and expression: Robert Ryman, a famous American abstract painter, showed us by his work in series that white is capable of appearing in many aspects: hot, cold, yellowish, grayish, dense, transparent, heavy or light.

The expression of white on the canvas or on the screen takes on another dimension on the architectural scale. While it is easy to imagine an all-white building, the complexity lies in maintaining its quality over time. This requires a technical approach and knowhow. We remember some beautiful buildings painted white or built in white concrete in the modern architecture. The works imagined by outstanding architects like Le Corbusier and Richard Meier were not spared by usury. White does not age. It soils.

White, the dematerialization

After discovering the site overlooking Seorak mountain with stunning rocks and colors, the architect understands that he should not confront and impose itself on the site but seek a fusion between the built element and the richness of the place. It needed a simple insertion that may create a resonance with the natural elements of one of the most beautiful landscape in South Korea.

Hence the audacious idea of an entirely white house was conceived. So the House [in White] takes the form capable of containing and projecting this magnificent landscape. It will dematerialize to the benefit of the surrounding nature by offering a new look at the variations and beauty of the seasons.

The unalterable white

The architecture could be white, but can it cope with bad weather and pollution? The gray will remain gray but white will lose its worth if soiled. The architect observed the aging of the buildings and discovered that even if the material itself is resistant to pollution, the main cause of the degradation is the rainwater runoff which reveals the pollution and the migrating dust disposition. It is therefore necessary to subdue the water to make facade unalterable!

The architect has sought for a smooth-faced, tinted material, giving the possibility of removing the horizontal joints from the facade to the roof (where the dust settles). The panels had to be vertically extended. For this reason, the material had to be resistant and easy to assemble despite its large dimensions. The composite board of acrylic resin and calcium carbonate, known under the trade name of Hi-Macs by LG Hausys (similar to Corian by Dupont), was chosen because it responded to all the criteria of the designers.

In addition, the architect decided to erase the smallest elements on the facade, such as rain gutters and downspouts. So the choice was made to let the rainwater flow into the gap created between the waterproofing layer and the façade skin. For this purpose, the details had to be defined at each edges or intersections of volumes.

Atelier house in white

A bedroom, a bathroom, a large living room with open kitchen on the ground floor and a large studio upstairs overlook Seorak mountain. Inside, the architect emphasizes the beauty of void. He minimizes the architectural and decorative elements to let penetrate the exterior light whose multiple tones decorate the interior and redesign the spaces with the white walls. It is a play of light filtered by the plants and trees in the garden, a play enhanced by a translucent sliding window shutter (same material as facade), by the a curtain mesh and by the mosaic tiles in terraces...

In addition, various external spaces around the house are put on: the Nordic style natural courtyard to the south, Italien secret garden in the east, and French provencal garden in the round in the nord. This natural garden will create an impressive contrast with the minimalist house.