Mixed Use in Magok - Facade

The project site is located along the edge of the Magok Urban Development District Unit Plan and possesses a rare condition for a small-scale site in Seoul: dual frontage and bi-directional accessibility. The eastern frontage faces Gangseo-ro, an eight-lane arterial road, while the rear frontage addresses Magokjungang 8-ro 7-gil, a two-lane internal street. While Gangseo-ro, due to its large scale and the absence of active contextual programs, lacks pedestrian friendliness, Magokjungang 8-ro 7-gil—an internal street within the master plan—reveals strong potential to evolve into a vibrant pedestrian-oriented environment as surrounding office and R&D complexes continue to develop.

Although the project was initially conceived with the objective of maximizing floor area ratio, it simultaneously explores ways in which a private building can incorporate public space and circulation to activate the urban street and provide a meaningful public passage within the block.

Within the rectangular mid-block site—enclosed by neighboring buildings on the north and south and accessed by roads on both sides—the main entrance is positioned to establish a direct relationship with an urban corridor that connects seamlessly to a secondary rear entrance. This corridor is shared by pedestrians, users of the ground-floor neighborhood facilities, and residents, while security for upper-level programs is ensured at the elevator hall. This planar strategy of an internal public corridor offers a space for public movement and social exchange without relying on pilotis or outdoor open spaces. The main entrance is integrated with a publicly accessible open space that functions as both a landscaped area and a resting place for pedestrians. Ground-floor planning prioritizes maximum neighborhood commercial use to encourage active street-level engagement.

The typical floor plan is organized into an optimized and efficient H-shaped layout, achieved through the consolidation of core elements and the 확보 of both front and rear views. Upon arrival at the upper floors via the elevator, occupants encounter a daylight window directly ahead. Adjacent seating areas, combined with corridor glazing that encourages visual intersection, promote casual social interaction among residents of individual units. Pockets generated by the H-shaped configuration are utilized as shared community spaces, including a second-floor terrace and a landscaped rooftop.

The façade composition responds to alternating bedroom layouts of residential units, resulting in a half-module horizontal shift at each floor and a repeating two-story rhythm. Limestone, the primary façade material, subtly expresses the building’s presence through the natural variation inherent to stone. The façade articulation is carefully developed based on an understanding of light and shadow. Metal panels and glass surfaces are set back 40 mm from the limestone plane, creating depth, while a 30 mm protruded frame extends outward both vertically and horizontally at material junctions and floor lines. This strategy allows each material to exist within its own plane, generating continuous relief across the façade.

This three-dimensional composition, combined with changing daylight conditions, enables multiple visual readings of the building. Furthermore, the alignment of protruded frames produces an optical effect of diagonal misalignment across the elevation, introducing visual dynamism and offering opportunities for interaction between the street, the building, and its occupants within an otherwise monotonous urban context.