PAJU BOOK CITY
Stan Allen Architect
ARCHITECTS
Stan Allen Architect
PHOTOGRAPHS
Courtesy Of Stan Allen Architect
LOCATION
Changnyeong-gun, South Korea
YEAR
2009
CATEGORY
Library
Text description provided by architect.
Paju Book City is a 125 hectare “Urban Wetland” that is being developed for the publishing industry in South Korea. Our firm was among a select group of foreign architects invited to design individual buildings within this innovative master plan. The client is a young web publishing company looking for light, open and interconnected workspaces.
Our proposal extends and elaborates the given “bookshelf typology” with an “L” shaped volume that creates an entry court and an upper level landscaped garden. The simple volume is activated by the figure of the stairs moving up the elevation, exposing the rough stone base below.
Behind the first layer of glass, a sliding panel system controls sunlight, creates privacy and creates a changeable pattern that is the counterpoint to the standardized curtain-wall system. This thick, responsive curtain-wall system moderates heat gain and activates the interior spaces. The simple figure of the building on site is a counterpoint to the highly active volumes of other buildings within the complex.
