IEOSEO
The site is situated on a gentle slope amidst the mandarin orchards of Seogwipo, Jeju—a vantage point where Hyeongje, Gapa, and Mara Islands align seamlessly along a single horizon. This panoramic condition served as the point of departure for the architectural design. The building was not conceived as a singular mass; instead, it is articulated through three distinct volumes: Block A (two stories), Block B (single story), and a central open kitchen. Though physically detached, these three volumes are bound into a unified system by a continuous floor plane and a shared roofline. This roofline is deliberately angled to frame the landscape, with the open kitchen positioned at the most advantageous viewpoint. Drawing on the spatial logic of the Jeongja (traditional Korean pavilion) and the village community hall, this central zone acts as a communal anchor—a mediating space that orchestrates the relationship between the two residential wings while allowing guests to maintain their own privacy. It is a place where shared meals and conversation occur, marking the intersection of the two stays between the orchards and the sea.
The project utilizes a heavy timber structure, following a strict principle of tectonic honesty by exposing columns and beams. Nothing is concealed behind finishes; instead, unnecessary layers have been stripped away to reveal the structural essence. The material palette draws deeply from the Jeju vernacular: cedar for the exterior, with basalt stone and wood defining the interior. While these materials are familiar to the island, their unconventional processing and application recontextualize them, offering a sense of "defamiliarization" to the observer.
The fenestration was precisely calibrated based on the dialectic between privacy and openness. Where views inward are possible, the surfaces are closed; where the outlook is toward nature, the structure opens. Block A is an extroverted structure that embraces the environment. In the second-floor bedroom, the horizon connecting the three islands enters the space without obstruction. On the ground floor, the dining area and an indoor open-air bath are aligned on the same level, allowing the rituals of cooking, dining, and bathing to flow as a singular, sensory sequence. The bath is connected to the exterior through the careful adjustment of wall angles and openings, avoiding direct exposure while allowing the atmosphere of the courtyard to enter the field of vision. Block B, the single-story volume, is the opposite—a space closer in character to a cave. Configured for sauna and bathing, it turns inward—external views are restrained to focus on bodily sensations. Light filters through a long horizontal window at the top of the wall and through the gaps between timber beams, shifting in intensity and direction as one moves through the space. These three volumes of distinct character converge, through the relationship between landscape and dwelling, to be read as a single piece of architecture.
