"wave house"
The salvage of the cultural and housing traditions of a people certainly represents an added value in an already globalized life style. This project springs from the valorisation of these natural and cultural elements that are at the heart of this transformation process of modern society. Our aim is to obtain a balanced blend of all these factors within a comprehensive vision of the sustainability of contemporary living. The "wave house" concept originates from the need to live in a varying (or variable) house that - just as a wave - relentlessly changes its form and point break.
The core idea consists in the superimposition of two parallel waves, a living-wave and a green-wave. In other words, a "wave" that can hold within itself all the elements that typify relationships and socialization in the life of a modern family, and another "wave" that can integrate the green with the house and thus recreate that ancient tie typical of the Korean housing tradition. In doing so, there is a will to harmonise spaces while maintaining a strict hierarchy among the various zones through different levels.
In this way a continuum comes into being which spatially embraces the dining room, the kitchen, the living room and the child's room. But all these elements are conceived as being in ceaseless movement, in transformation. Actually the configuration of the dining room can change to become "an-bang" by simply lowering the table. Instead the living room balances the different level between the living area and the sleeping area, being provided with an especially designed adjustable sofa, and becomes an area dedicated to video projections, conversation, and play if used in direct connection with the child's room. In fact the child can use these two spaces as a single play area by benefiting from the wave that "enters" his/her room and opens it up towards the living room.
In this arrangement the kitchen represents the central point on the wave and has a barycentric function: from here the mother can directly look after her child while s/he is playing, watch the television in the living room and attend the table; moreover she can also see the entrance of the flat and to the private garden. In this way the traditional centrality of the Korean kitchen is brought back to new life under a modern view. Interactivity between spaces has been achieved also through the harmonisation with natural elements: the house is ventilated by exploiting the 'Venturi effect' (the acceleration of wind in a duct), as a result of the funnel-shaped internal partitions at different levels. Additionally, the compositional effect of the building itself, born from the union of more housing units, characterised by the hollow spaces in its facades, permits both wind and sun - essential elements for the quality of sustainable living - to filter inside the courtyard. The longitudinal facades have been designed as a screen in stretched mesh steel grating panels that provides with privacy, at the same time offering a view on the city and nature. Moreover thanks to this system climbing plants outside the building can find a 'grasp' on the facades.
The flexibility that characterises the basic cell of this structure is transferred by osmosis also inside the building generated by the free arrangement of flats, which are served by the balcony-type vertical distribution system, thus allowing for the creation of any typology (e.g. in line, C-, block-, courtyard- or tower-shaped).
The building technique chosen provides for a steel bearing structure (pillars and beams), with hollow "box" floors (typical of shipbuilding) in which the systems can be fixed with a considerable reduction in the assembly time needed. The external panelling towards the gallery is in insulated concrete sandwich panels, internally hollow, covered with stretched mesh steel grating panels, while the transversal facades are completely in glass. The interiors of the building - floors and walls - are mainly in wood, either natural or varnished.

Comments by juries

Alessandro mendini : As the grand prize winner the project displays and boasts about impressive qualities of genuine creativity and sensivility with overall precision in the work. Also, with the careful understanding on the cultural aspect of Korean housing, it candidly exposes and expresses its concerns of the issues of latchkey children who are taken as serious problems in the face of recent socialist countries. The theme of the work is also well related to contest theme at the same time. The practical attempt to express the basic root of our lives is presented in its natural charms and originality of the project. Being creative and practically possible, the project was done in articulate expressions

Seok-Chul Kim : His word introducing the flow concept of the Living Space denies the cliche of everyday of lives. On the slope of the artificial land nature was added so that it creates the variety that can be seen in a detached house. By putting the kitchen, living room, dining room up with a platform leading down for two bed rooms below it made the peculiar structures of paths. It very interesting that bathroom, storage, small space of the side of the slope made the steps of life in units possible. Its logic of how to put together housing units into the building is very clear. Also, the work has excellent 3-dimentional development of order structures.

Shigeru Uchida : The project of Lucas Donner's the winner of the Grand Prix, holds a unique sectional plane from good understanding of traditional Korean landscape and houses on the slopes. Since splitting the space with the walls would make it look closed it divides the characteristic of a single room with the difference in height. In this way it provides with more flexibility in creating more space.

Cui Kai : This work stands out with its clear concept is and incredible creativity. It keenly introduces new architecture and new community for the recently overpopulated city by proposing a new space, environment, and life style. It has the theme that's well related to that of the contest. The designer arranged the living area with skilled technique and 3-dimentionalize the ordinary planar space with an exquisite touch. He suggests a method of communication and contact via this building and the idea of change if space overlaps made chain-type perpendicular community space possible. This is a new understanding and presentation of the development and mix between oriental culture and westernized housing. This modern and practical work fits well for the theme of the contest.