Aoa Architects

Chubby Cat House

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

CHUBBY CAT HOUSE

Aoa Architects

ARCHITECTS
Aoa Architects

LOCATION
Mapo-Gu, South Korea

CATEGORY
Houses

AREA
485 m²

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hyosook Chin

MANUFACTURERS
REHAU, Luxmall, Sto Limited

YEAR
2017

CLIENT
Unihouse

Text description provided by architect.

Since the site was located at the end of a dead-end street and surrounded all over by buildings, it needed something that allows the building to be recognized at least from the main road.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

As shown in a typical Seoul neighborhood, Seongsan-dong is also full of irregular buildings by unknown developers and local builders, so if one elevation of the building becomes one large flat surface, it could not only highlight the presence of the building giving it a unique impression, but also be helpful to promote sale of units.

Since the land owner was also a typical local developer, he undoubtedly demanded a unit-configuration that would maximize profits for the given conditions.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

Attempt to squeeze in a maximum number of units given the floor area ratio resulted in somewhat uneven floor plans, and the building section also had to be in accordance with the lines of the setback regulation of solar access right.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

This results in the typical consequence of the ‘economic necessity’ to accommodate as many units as possible in a relatively small plot and the complicated “auto-generative mechanism” created by the setback lines of building regulation which are inherent in many medium-size residential buildings in Seoul.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

If this mass of capital and functions generated by the structure of the Korean real estate market coexist with the large flat surface reacting to the surrounding, it could be interpreted that the building, like a man wearing a mask to conceal his face, wears a mask to veil a heap of greed behind.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

The flat surface seen on the road becomes an exaggerated free-standing wall, thereby becoming a kind of ‘decorated shed’ which denied the proposition of modernism ‘form follows function’ and thus broke the typical cohesion of form and space.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

Furthermore, the representative building elevation, ‘the facade’ adds some satirical humor by associating certain shape or figure.One day, if a giant cat or owl appears reminding of a scene in a Japanese animation, it will be sure to liven up the neighborhood adding fun and pleasure.

While the ground floor is reserved for parking, the upper floors consist of 13 units in total: 4 units each on the 2nd and 3rd floor, 2 units with terraces on the 4th and 3 units with attics on the 5th.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

For privacy and convenience, main layout is designed around corridors on the one side of the building.

Although each unit is quite small, all rooms are standardized without jagged corners for maximum efficiency and equipped with big windows for openness.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin

The ceiling is left without light fixtures and the door height is slightly reduced than usual to achieve the sense of openness.

In consideration of its complex form, the exterior was finished simply with white stucco and partially with blue tiles for concerns of contamination.

Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin
Chubby Cat House
© Hyosook Chin


Chubby Cat House
Model
Chubby Cat House
Model


Chubby Cat House
Interior Model
Chubby Cat House
Interior Model
Chubby Cat House
Interior Model
Chubby Cat House
Interior Model


Chubby Cat House
Site Model
Chubby Cat House
Model


Chubby Cat House
Floor Plan
Chubby Cat House
Section


Chubby Cat House
Axonometric
Chubby Cat House
Roof View


Chubby Cat House
Elevation Sketch

Aoa Architects
T +82 2 7229590
Aoa Architects
3F, 67 Sajik-ro, Sajik-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea