Liberty Lounge

Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim

LIBERTY LOUNGE

Simplex Architecture

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Studio 101

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Ean R&C

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Greg Chung Whan Park, Sanghun Song

CIVIL ENGINEER
Chungdam E&C Co.

MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Kodam Engineering

VISUALIZATION
Vize

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Tomi Structure

MANUFACTURERS
Eagon, HangilTech, Hyundai:, Inoblock

SPACE BRANDING & DESIGN
KMGD

AREA
1263 m²

YEAR
2016

LOCATION
Seoul, South Korea

CATEGORY
Hospitality Architecture

Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin

Text description provided by architect.

The site is located in an alley, a few blocks away from Dosandae-ro a busy boulevard in Seoul’s Gangnam district.

Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin

The area used to be a low-rise residential district in the past, but now rapidly transforming into a commercial district full of shops and restaurants.

The existing building had a simple rectangular structure with a courtyard in the middle, using concrete blocks and blackened steel as a major finish material.

Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin

The main interest in designing the building was to keep the existing materiality, yet to make enough alteration to accommodate the new program.

The concrete block wall on the north was maintained in order to preserve the original materiality of the building, and the blackened steel was mainly used for the newly built walls.

Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim

The existing building was a two-story building, with 52.76% building-to- land ratio and 76.98% Floor Area Ratio. The client has requested to extend the building to a three-story building and maximize its building-to-land ratio.

The building was extended by 401.16 m 2 to make 59.74% building-to-land ratio (max: 60%) and 118.97% Floor Area Ratio.

Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim

Due to the height restriction at the north-east corner, the 3rd floor massing was skewed from the 2nd floor massing, creating a triangular balcony in between.

The main façade on the east is covered with a metal mesh curtain, rigid yet flexible material following the curvilinear pattern consisting of multiple semicircles.

The metal mesh connecting the two mirrored patterns will create a transitional form. This skin produces a layer of diffusion in front of the solid wall, which needs to completely separate the interior space from outside.

Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim

It suggests an ambiguous characteristic of the façade, which is diversified by the colorful LED lights installed at the bottom of the façade, emphasizing its curvilinear form during the night time.

The main entrance was relocated to the north side of the building, while the original east entrance was blocked by the metal mesh.

Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim

However, people can vaguely see the old entrance and the stairs behind the metal mesh. The concrete stairs at the entrance extends up to the third level, keeping the materiality of the original stairs.


Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin
Liberty Lounge
© Kyungsub Shin


Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim
Liberty Lounge
© Young Kim


Liberty Lounge
Process Diagram
Liberty Lounge
Facade Diagram


Liberty Lounge
Section A
Liberty Lounge
Section B


Liberty Lounge
First Floor Plan
Liberty Lounge
Second Floor Plan
Liberty Lounge
Third Floor Plan
Liberty Lounge
Roof Plan