House of the House

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee

House of the House

OfAA

ARCHITECTS
OfAA

DESIGN TEAM
Ofaa, Office For Appropriate Architecture

MANUFACTURERS
Autodesk, American Standard, Benjamin Moore, Adobe, Eagon, Google, Realzinc, Samhanc1

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Jooyoun Yoon

PHOTOGRAPHS
Wonseok Lee

AREA
215 m²

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Sampyeong-dong, South Korea

CATEGORY
Houses

‘House of the House’ is a small solo residence for a grandmother in her mid-seventies. The architect’s main concern when designing this house was that the grandmother would not feel lonely.

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee

Solitude can be very intimidating for senior citizens. First of all, this house is physically connected to the neighborhood, unlike other houses in the area, which are closed off with garages, walls and fences.

The grandmother's house feels open with its welcoming walkway. Thanks to the flowers and beautiful trees alongside this path, people will regard the grandmother's house as friendly and cozy.

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee

Moreover, as she loves gardening, she will maintain her health by nurturing these flowers and trees, and being occupied in this way will prevent her from feeling lonely.

The grandmother’s home feels as if it is comprised of three, differently-sized houses. This idea is called ‘house of the house’, a concept of planning suitable residential spaces while maintaining the relationships between private / public and internal / external spaces.

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee

The 'Small House' is a private area where the grandmother's bedroom, walk-in closet, and therapy pool are connected, like a studio apartment. The therapy pool is the grandmother's personal hydrotherapy space.

The 'Big House' is a space that is integrated with a living room, dining room and kitchen, and can be considered her daily living space.

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee

Since it is of a size appropriate to a public space, it was possible to plan a high living room ceiling, and an attic utilizing the remaining space for family visitors.

The ‘Big House’ and ‘Small House’ can be used as independent spaces, as they are separated by the ‘Middle House’. A courtyard and a sun-room comprise the ‘Middle House’.

In essence, the sun-room is the main entrance of the house, and is filled with potted plants, but it is also a multi-purpose space, which can be used in various ways according to season and situations.

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee

For instance, when the fireplace is in use, the family can bake sweet potatoes in winter, or they can lie on the cool raised floor in the summer.

It serves a similar purpose to the maruor bongdang of the Korean traditional residence, the hanok.

All of these areas are centered around the courtyard, giving the indoor and outdoor spaces the correct balance, thus enriching the experience of the ‘Small House’.

House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee


House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee


House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee
House of the House
© Wonseok Lee


House of the House
Plan 01
House of the House
Plan 02
House of the House
Plan 03
House of the House
Roof plan


House of the House
Section 01
House of the House
Section 02
House of the House
Section 03
House of the House
Design diagram