Songpa Micro Housing by SsD
08/12/2015.
[Seoul] South Korea
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
SsD is a team of Harvard graduates, Jinhee Park and John Hong that established their firm in 2003 while working together on three townhouses in Cambridge and have since moved on to bigger projects including the elegant White Block Gallery and Songpa Micro-Housing block, below.
Overview. Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
View from street. Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Corner detail. Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Detail. Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
View of Entry Plaza: The micro-auditorium, entry lobby, and sky-wells punctuate the public open ground plane.
The micro-theater doubles as an entry to the cafe and toy gallery below grade.
Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Songpa tapioca space Tapioca Space: residual space between units form shared connections as well as provides at least 3 exposures for all units.
Corridors connected to natural light, ventilation, and views, also become places for social interaction.
A micro courtyard connects the activity of the ground floor to the toy gallery below.
Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Micro auditorium and cafe: During the day, the micro-auditorium doubles as a living room/cafe that residents and the public can share.
The ‘building blocks’ of units can easily be converted to gallery or other uses.
Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
Through adjacency and bridges, the 120sf unit modules can also be combined into larger 240sf units.
The 120sf basic unit allows all aspects of daily life through efficient operable walls. Clerestory windows bring in light and perceptually extends the ceiling plane.
The required ground floor parking doubles as a public plaza for events.
Ixonometric. Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
By leveraging zoning constraints, residual space (or what we call tapioca space) becomes semi-public shared zones for the residents. By leveraging zoning constraints, residual space (or what we call tapioca space) becomes semi-public shared zones for the residents.
The ground floor becomes an open-program area that allows gatherings, expansion of interior spaces, and parking.
Second Floor Galleries: Micro-units are easily converted to galleries to allow for innovative curation as well as extend the life of the living units above.
Alternately the 2nd floor can be used as apartments: even though there are only 2 unit types, differing relationships can be set up for differing personalities.
Unfolded elevation: A fine grain screen takes on the multi-purpose properties of the adhoc but highly functional additions seen on neighboring buildings. Depending on the location on the building it works as a railing, drainage path, privacy barrier, and bike rack while masking utilities such as conduits and gas lines.
Section: The void spaces are either shared by the units or visually extend the interior experience while still maintaining privacy.
The many varied patterns of the screen is created out of just 9 modules.
Model. Songpa Micro Housing by SsD. Photograph © SsD.
SsD (short for Single Speed Architecture) proposes a project that try address the issue of housing shortage than in one of the world’s most densely populated cities, nearly twice as dense as New York City. Located in Seoul’s largest district, the Songpa Micro-Housing functions as a micro urban village in which the line between individual living units and semi-public and open-program spaces are blurred.
Description of the project by SsD
The problem of urban density and housing costs is global. As unit types get smaller however, micro‐ housing has the danger of becoming a provisional housing type with little social value. By mining the discrepancy between maximum floor area ratios and maximum zoning envelopes, Songpa Micro‐ Housing provides a new typology that extends the limits of the unit to also include semi‐public circulation, balconies, and visual extensions. Like the ambiguous gel around a tapioca pearl, this ‘Tapioca Space’ becomes a soft intersection between public/private and interior/exterior, creating social fabrics between neighbors.
In this way, the ambition of the project is to prove that ‘space’ and ‘size’ are actually separate concepts.
In terms of dynamically flexible mixed‐use housing, fourteen 'unit blocks' allow residents to either claim a single unit, or in the case where a couple or friends require more space, recombine the blocks for larger configurations.
Also, units can be used for differing programs such as galleries or work spaces. This flexibility allows occupants to live in the building longer and thus more sustainably as they will not have to move out with changing situations. Finally, the micro‐auditorium / cafe on the ground floor and basement are spatially linked to the units as a shared living room.
While the zoning regulations require the building be lifted for parking, the resulting open ground plane can be constantly reprogrammed for differing events such as performances, art openings, or gatherings. Pedestrian traffic is pulled from the street down through the micro‐auditorium steps, connecting city, building, and residents to the exhibition spaces below.
CREDITS. TECHNICAL SHEET.-
Architects.- SsD
Architects in Charge.- Jinhee Park AIA, John Hong, SsD
Architect of Record.- Dyne Architects
Structural Engineer.- Mirae Structural Design Group
Construction Manager.- Kiro Construction
More information
Architecture + Urbanism SsD
Jinhee Park received a Master in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a B.F.A. in Industrial Design from Seoul National University. Her work at SsD has been celebrated through numerous awards including a 2015 Best in Competition Award from AIANY, a 2012 Architecture Vanguard from Architectural Record, the 2009 AIA Young Architects Award, and the 2007 Young Architects Forum Award from the Architectural League of New York. Jinhee is currently Adjunct Professor at Columbia GSAPP and from 2009-13 she has served as Design Critic in Architecture at the Harvard GSD. Previous appointments include Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture CCNY in 2014, the Morgenstern Chair Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2008, and the Sasaki Distinguished Visiting Critic at the Boston Architectural College in 2007.
John Hong AIA, LEED AP received a Master in Architecture with Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a B.S. in Architecture with Honors from the University of Virginia. His work with SsD has been recognized with many awards including the 2012 Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York, the 2006 AIA Young Architects award, and the 2004 Metropolis Next Generation Prize. John is currently Associate Professor at Seoul National University. In 2014, he taught as Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and in 2007-13 he served as Associate Professor in Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Design as well as holding appointments as Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture CCNY from 2012-13.
