Hundreds of cubes front Julien De Smedt’s Gangnam housing block

The starting point for the design was the orientation of the site, which wraps around a corner at the base of a hill. In its current configuration, over 30 per cent of the residences would face north, and a handful would overlook their neighbours. Julien De Smedt’s firm recently completed the 10-storey Gwell Residential building in the city’s developing Gangnam Bogeumjari District, creating a row of shops and 700 single-resident   homes. Zigzagging paving in front of the building mimics   the pattern of the facade, forming a new public space overlooked by residents. The building is located at the base of a hill. The architect avoided this   by shifting the floor plans so that many   of the 25-square-metre apartments sit at an angle. Related story: YOAP White House apartment block in Seoul by Design Band YOAP
Described by the Belgian architect   as «a new dimension for the officetel typology», the design aims to rethink the typical layout of the common South Korean building, which commonly consists of small units that allow occupants to live and work in the same place. «This shifted facade creates a special identity for the whole complex – a lively and exclusive appearance that becomes the trademark for this unique building,»   he said. Glazed shopfronts surround the ground floor, while   a drive-through entrance leads down to five levels of underground parking, offering enough space for each resident to park a car. To complicate the facade even further,   De Smedt staggered the apartments across different floors and added balconies across the front of each one, creating a pattern of tessellating cubes. Project credits:
Architect: JDS, Junglim Architects
Creative authorship: Julien De Smedt
Project leader: Heechan Park, Henning Stüben
Project team: Amanda Ripoll, Byeongmoo Moo, Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Francisco Villeda, Marvin Philipp, Mathilde Claus
Massing   diagramFacade concept diagram oneFacade concept diagram twoFacade concept diagram threeFacade concept diagram fourGround floor plan – click for larger imageFirst floor plan – click for larger imageSecond   floor, fifth floor and eighth floor plan – click for larger imageThird floor and sixth floor plan – click for larger imageFourth floor and seventh floor plan – click for larger imageNinth floor plan – click for larger imageCross section   – click for larger imageLong section   – click for larger image