Mixed Use in Magok

The project is situated at the peripheral edge of the Magok Urban Development District Unit Plan, occupying a relatively small parcel within Seoul yet characterized by the uncommon condition of dual street frontage. The site addresses Gangseo-ro—an eight-lane arterial road—along its eastern edge, while simultaneously engaging Magokjungang 8-ro 7-gil, a two-lane secondary street, at the rear. While Gangseo-ro operates primarily at the scale of vehicular infrastructure and lacks pedestrian-oriented urban programs, the internal back street demonstrates latent potential to evolve into a pedestrian-friendly environment as adjacent office and research-based mixed-use developments continue to materialize.

Originally conceived under the conventional imperative of maximizing floor area ratio, the project critically reframes this objective by interrogating how a private building might incorporate public space and circulation as an urban strategy. Rather than treating density as a purely quantitative outcome, the proposal positions architectural form and spatial organization as instruments capable of activating the surrounding streetscape and offering a public connective passage embedded within the building mass.

On the mid-block rectangular site—bounded by neighboring buildings to the north and south—the primary entrance is aligned with the major frontage and spatially linked to a secondary entrance at the rear through an internalized urban corridor. This corridor operates as a shared spatial infrastructure for pedestrians, ground-floor neighborhood commercial users, and residents, while maintaining controlled access to upper-level programs through a secured elevator lobby. As a planar public device, the urban corridor enables movement, encounter, and continuity without reliance on pilotis or externalized outdoor passages, thereby redefining publicness within an enclosed architectural framework.

The main entrance is further articulated through its relationship with a publicly accessible open space that functions simultaneously as a landscaped buffer and a pedestrian resting zone. At ground level, the maximum feasible allocation of neighborhood commercial programs reinforces street-level activity and urban permeability. The typical residential floor is organized as an optimized ‘H’-shaped layout, achieved through the strategic concentration of core elements and the calibration of front and rear visual connections to enhance spatial efficiency and environmental quality.

Arrival at the upper floors is choreographed through a sequence in which the elevator opens directly toward a daylight aperture. Adjacent seating areas, in conjunction with the naturally lit corridor, are conceived as social condensers that encourage visual exchange and informal interaction among residents. The residual pockets generated by the ‘H’-shaped configuration are appropriated as collective spaces, accommodating a second-floor terrace and a landscaped rooftop garden that extend the notion of community beyond the individual unit.

The façade articulation emerges from the systematic inversion of the residential bedroom layouts, producing a half-module horizontal shift at each level and resulting in a two-story rhythmic repetition. Limestone, employed as the primary façade material, registers the building’s presence through the subtle chromatic and textural variations inherent to natural stone. The façade is conceived as a three-dimensional field shaped by a calibrated understanding of light and shadow: metal panel and glass surfaces are recessed 40 mm behind the limestone plane, while protruded frames extending 30 mm horizontally and vertically articulate the boundaries between materials and floor levels. Through this layered relief, each material maintains its own planar autonomy while contributing to a continuous depth condition.

This tectonic strategy enables multiple visual interpretations under shifting daylight conditions. Moreover, the alignment of protruded frames generates an optical effect of diagonal displacement across the façade, disrupting the monotony of the surrounding streetscape and establishing a subtle yet persistent dialogue between the building, the street, and its occupants—positioning the architecture not as an isolated object, but as an active mediator within the urban continuum.