architectural firm studio_GAON

Time-completed, Space-driven Architecture

Studio Gaon was founded in 1998 and is represented by Lim Hyoung-nam and Roh Eun-joo. Gaon means 'center' in Korean. Gaon carries out various urban and architectural projects, and the representative directors have written 15 related books, including <The House Grows like a Tree>, <Seoul Sketchbook>, and <Hanok, a House Built with Thought>.

 We seek to implement an architecture that reflects modern lifestyles that are rapidly changing into the most modern and universal materials and structural methods. The architecture we pursue harmonizes with nature and contemplates the locality of Korea and the present nature of architecture. The representative works include <House in Geumsan>, <Lucia's Earth>, <Sinjinmal Building>, <Amitis' Garden>, and <Buddhist temple ‘Jetavana’>.

Gaon is particularly interested in traditional architecture featuring the locality of Korea and Seoul, where we are mainly active. From Gaon's point of view, the biggest feature of Korean architecture is the movement of space, compared to other oriental architectures such as that of Japan and China. Korean architecture, for example, has a constant flow between spaces rather than a frozen screen. Also, the interior and exterior spaces naturally follow the flows and contain traces of natural elements such as light and wind passing by.

 In <House in Geumsan>, we borrowed the language of traditional architecture and proposed a modernized hanok, while in <Buddhist temple ‘Jetavana’>, we embodied the Korean temple, which has been maintained in the traditional architectural style for hundreds of years, in the vocabulary of modern architecture using concrete and bricks.

 Gaon prefers sketches or models over three-dimensional computer graphics in the course of work and values the essence of material and the temporality of location over form and epidermis. They say architecture is the dream of land and the story of people's lives. In other words, it is the role of architects to mediate between land and people to create architecture. Gaon is exploring the nature of architecture that is valuable beyond time, and we believe "time" is the essential material for the completion of architecture.