Studio Zero85 Architetti Associati

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center 

studio zozo

ARCHITECTS
Studio Zozo

AREA
198 M²

LOCATION
Dangjin-si, South Korea

MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
Hyeobsin Eng

CONSTRUCTIONS
Hs Corporation

PHOTOGRAPHS
Yang Taeyoung

YEAR
2022 

CATEGORY
Community Center

MAE-AN-GEO means the home of Maesan-ri, where you can rest comfortably with plum blossoms (The name of Maesan-ri comes from the village with plum blossoms).

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung

Borrowing the concept of “KAN (can be translated as ’space module’ or ‘room’)“ in HANOK (Korean traditional architecture), MAE-AN-GEO is a house with 22 modules with a size of 3m X 3m. 9 modules are used for senior citizen center, the rest 13 modules for the village community center.

The village community center consists of a resident’s living room, kitchen, and a small bathroom with a mini-sauna and a small office for the village headman.

Rooms for the elderly are designed to be cozy spaces, except for the narrow window for ventilation all faces are out of birch plywood.

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung

Through the glass tower, natural sunlight enters, and the elderly can enjoy the sky view from the inside.

The Resident’s living room is a space everyone can stop by and use like a café, differentiated from rooms for the elderly, designed with a transparent glass facade.

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung

The living room has a beautiful field view to the south and an old parish (Catholic Church) view to the west, an important cultural heritage in the village.

When there is an important village meeting or when residents are watching a movie in a group, the entrance and revolving wall of the resident’s living room are closed so that the elderly can use the senior citizen’s space independently without being disturbed.

A slightly floating building and 3 inner courtyards are designed for eco-friendly ventilation.

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung

In summer, the cool air under the building enters inside through the inner courtyard, and the heated air from the inside is sent out through the non-powered exhaust fan in the tower.

The external electric blinds on the glass tower are controlled to block out the heat during the summer, but in wintertime, it allows to let in the sunlight to reduce the heating costs.

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung

After the sun goes down, Mae-an-geo transforms into a lighting box that illuminates the village with the wide-field view of Maesan-ri as background.

On days of village feasts or events, it illuminates the lights so that all villagers can come to MAE-AN-GEO.

MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung


MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
© Yang Taeyoung


MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
Section 1
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
Section 2


MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
East Elevation
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
West Elevation
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
North Elevation
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
South Elevation


MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
Floor Plan
MAE-AN-GEO Village Community Center
Site Plan

Studio Zero85 Architetti Associati
T +39 085 4455529
Studio Zero85 Architetti Associati
C.so Umberto I, 65015 Montesilvano PE, Italy