Sayuwon park functional architecture
Sayuwon park
From the first idea by the chairman Yoo Jaesung in 2013, is a private park ( from 2020 open to the public) where selected architects, artist, landscaper design are invited to dialogue with the natural landscape. The site covers an area totaling 330,000 m2 and takes about three hours to look around in its entirety. The park includes architecture by Alvaro Siza, Seung h-sang ( IROJE), Wook Choi, Matsunobu Kawagishi and Jung Young-sun ( landscape architect) Sayuwon's personal experience began in 2014 with various proposals, projects, ideas, and suggestions in a continuous exchange of ideas with Chairman Mr. Yoo. Only since 2021 have four projects taken shape.
These are park service buildings, with a limited budget and the request to use materials already present in the park, concrete, brick, and Corten steel. The relationship between the building and nature had to be the guiding element in a continuous confrontation between artificiality and naturalness. The general principles that unite the 4 projects are the experimentation of materials, shapes and construction typologies in a continuous search for the perfect shape. The geometry of the plan, the diagonal, the sharp angles, the structure, the clear connection between form and material, but also asymmetries and misalignments in the obsessive search for a mysterious geometric root which can only be seen in decontextualized abstract form.
Visiting center gate
The client’s request was to design a new gate building for the arboretum. The project includes a parking area with information center, ticket office, and restroom facilities. The site is located in a narrow valley along the main road. The project aims to integrate seamlessly with the surrounding landscape, connecting the parking lot and tourist facilities to the arboretum. The building is a sculptural volume with an irregular triangular geometry, nestled into the valley to welcome visitors under a small portico and direct them toward the park. Exposed concrete is the primary material used, enabling walls and roofs to merge seamlessly into a cohesive form resembling a carved stone. Black metal elements complete the structure, guiding rainwater to the ground. Over the years, moss and the surrounding pine forest will gradually cover the concrete, transforming the building into an integral part of the park, as though it were a natural stone.
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Public Toilets (Sacred and Profane)
The client’s request was to design two small toilet building for the park visitors, using concrete and brick as the main materials, and making them not only fully functional but also symbolic, evocative
A dialogue between opposites: the two small architectures embody a reflection on the duality of human existence – the Sacred and the Profane. Through form, materials, and light, they establish a dialogue between spirituality and everyday life, between introspection and connection with nature.
Sacred: a temple of rigor and introspection
The “Sacred” building is a cryptic black-brick monolith – a perfect 4.8 × 4.8 m cube that radiates austerity and spirituality. Its essential geometry invites contemplation, like a modern temple celebrating the inner dimension. Inside, narrow ascetic spaces in exposed concrete play with varying heights (from 2 m to 4 m), generating a sensation of compression and upward thrust. Small square windows placed near the top ceiling filter a subdued light.
Two symmetrical entrances lead to a shared vestibule: an intimate 1.2 × 1.2 m space with a circular washbasin at its center. Here, a man and a woman can meet, mirroring each other. A small architecture made to last over time, minimal, essential where the only formal concessions are the functional elements of the stone drainpipes.
Profane: an ode to light and nature in sharp contrast.
The “Profane” building celebrates the vitality of the earthly world and the bond with nature. It is composed of four monolithic concrete volumes with pitched roofs, reminiscent of small houses. The central symmetry is interrupted by entrance portal that leads into a central vestibule open to the landscape through four corner windows. Four identical doors provide access to four individual toilets; each characterized by bright colors and flooded with natural light through large roof skylights. Each room is a microcosm that celebrates color, nature, and everyday joy.
“Profane” is a hymn to vital simplicity, an invitation to reconnect with the environment through beauty.
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Sayuwon park performance pavilion
The project responds to the client's request to create a multipurpose structure capable of hosting shows, concerts, and outdoor celebrations, with a 20x14-meter stage area suitable for hosting a full orchestra but also, more simply, a resting place for visitors to shelter from the rain and protect themselves from the sun.
A work that combines functionality and beauty in harmony with the evocative landscape of Sayuwon.
Inspired by the Japanese art of origami, where precise folds transform a simple sheet of paper into figures of animals and insects, in the same way the conceptual form of the stage comes to life from precise folds of a sheet of Corten steel.
The result is a stable and efficient form where the considerable structural effort is minimized by eliminating thicknesses. The particular tapered shape in plan and section resembles the mouth of a megaphone that amplifies sound and focuses attention on the center of the stage, allowing the landscape to become a natural stage.
Like a butterfly gently resting on a flower, the steel tent rests delicately on the ground at only four points, leaving the views of the landscape unobstructed.
An essential, sharp, and iconic silhouette frames the landscape, creating a dialogue between nature and architecture. The structure, made with a light system of metal beams connected to the concrete base only four points is cladding externally with 2 mm thick Corten steel panels and internally with 1 mm thick black painted steel paneling with a special acoustically designed profile. The project is completed with linear LED lights inserted into the false ceiling and a small storage and technical room with a sloping corten steel roof.
Strong yet ethereal, the structure is not only a functional element but also an iconic landmark that celebrates the beauty of Sayuwon and welcomes visitors with elegance and lightness.
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CREDITS
Visiting center gate
Architect: Liveraniandrea.com
Client: Sayuwon Co. Ltd, CEO Yoo Jaesung.
contractor: IL WON Construction, 46, Hwarang-ro 2-gil, Suseong-gu, Daegu
project m. Jee Hong Kim ( Sayuwon director)
site Area: 330.000 mq
built area: 140 mq
year: 2025
Sayuwon park performance pavilion
Architect: Liveraniandrea.com
Client: Sayuwon Co., Ltd, CEO Yoo Jaesung.
contractor: Insung Gene Al Construction Co, Ltd, 76-29-okgye-nm-ro, Gumi-si
Engineer: Dooru Engineering.Co.LTD, Daegu, Korea
Lighting Bitzro architectural Lighting Design, Seul, Korea
local architect: Kim Jae-Hyuk,
project m. Jee Hong Kim ( Sayuwon director)
Site Area: 330,000 sqm
Built Area: 280 sqm
Year: 2025
Public Toilets (Sacred and Profane)
Architect: Liveraniandrea.com
Client: Sayuwon Co., Ltd, CEO Yoo Jaesung.
Contractor: Lee Won Architecture Design Co. Ltd, 38 Seonghwa-ro, Hwawon-eup, Daegu
local architect: Kim Jae-Hyuk
project m. Jee Hong Kim ( Sayuwon director)
Site Area: 330,000 sqm
Built Area: 30+30 sqm
Year: 2025
