项目名称：Folded Ground

地点：首尔，韩国

设计团队：LIFE Architects

项目面积：1108 m²

竣工时间：2023年

摄影： Kyungsub Shin

设计特色：

项目 – 韩国建筑事务所LIFE Architects在首尔弘大区完成了一座商业建筑，其特色是在建筑外部三面展现出独特的折叠混凝土立面。

这座名为"折叠地面"的建筑位于弘益大学附近的一处游乐场旁，通过雕塑般的设计手法回应其充满活力的城市环境，巧妙地平衡了公共和私密空间。这座面积达1108平方米的建筑，在首尔最富活力的街区之一树立起了一个深思熟虑的建筑范例。

在建筑师韩志映和黄秀容的带领下，项目最引人注目的特点是其连续的混凝土表皮，它在三个立面上折叠和重叠，创造出了建筑师所描述的"延展性地面"，以回应场地的多样性。这个结构元素不仅定义了建筑的美学特征，还作为一个精密的装置来框景并控制内部和外部空间之间的关系。

斜向的混凝土结构有意地将外部景观分割成动态的、多面的框架，从内部观察时呈现出丰富的视觉效果。这种建筑策略使建筑既保持了商业空间所需的可见度，又为办公空间提供了适当的私密性，有效地平衡了这座位于人流密集的城市环境中的综合性建筑的各种需求。

这个项目的独特之处在于它如何在首尔喧嚣的街景中创造出宁静时刻。建筑精心设计的灰空间、阳台和结构元素，让使用者在保持与街区活力联系的同时，能够远离招牌林立、建筑密集的视觉喧嚣。建筑内的垂直动线成为一段体验之旅，人们仿佛在结构中穿行，沿途发现意想不到的景观和空间关系。

团队 – LIFE建筑事务所成立于韩国首尔，是一家将创新设计思维与场地敏感度完美融合的建筑实践机构。事务所由两位主创建筑师领衔：韩志映（韩国注册建筑师）和黄秀容（弘益大学兼任教授），两人均获建筑学硕士学位，他们在城市环境中的建筑干预方面发展出独特的设计方法。

自成立以来，LIFE建筑事务所通过多元化的项目展现了其专业实力，并获得多项荣誉，包括2021年韩国建筑文化大奖新进建筑师优秀奖和2021年济州建筑大奖住宅类本奖。他们的设计理念强调建筑与日常生活之间的密切关系，突破传统建筑边界，探索新的空间可能性和材料应用。

该事务所的设计方法以严谨的城市条件研究和创新的材料应用为特征，他们的作品始终展现出对改造僵化城市景观的承诺，通过深思熟虑的建筑干预来回应当代社会和环境需求。

LIFE建筑事务所保持着协作式的工作室文化，将资深设计师的专业经验与新晋人才的创新视角相结合。他们的跨学科方法整合了建筑、城市设计和研究，创造出既挑战传统类型又与场地和使用者保持紧密联系的项目。

Project Name: Folded Ground

Location: Seoul, South Korea

Design Team: LIFE Architects

Area: 1108 m²

Completion: 2023

Photography: Kyungsub Shin

Feature：

Project - South Korean architecture firm LIFE Architects has completed a commercial building in Seoul's vibrant Hongdae district that features a distinctive folded concrete facade wrapping around three sides of its exterior.

The Folded Ground Neighborhood Facility, situated adjacent to a playground near Hongik University, responds to its dynamic urban context through a sculptural approach that mediates between public and private spaces. The 1,108-square-metre building, completed in 2023, stands as a thoughtful architectural intervention in one of Seoul's most energetic neighborhoods.

Led by architects Jeeyoung Han and Sooyong Hwang, the project's most striking feature is its continuous concrete skin that folds and overlaps across three facades, creating what the architects describe as an "expansive ground" that responds to the site's diversity. This structural element does more than just define the building's aesthetic – it serves as a sophisticated device for framing views and controlling the relationship between interior and exterior spaces.

The diagonal concrete structure deliberately fragments external views, creating dynamic, multifaceted frames when viewed from within. This architectural strategy allows the building to maintain its commercial visibility while providing appropriate privacy for office spaces, effectively balancing the needs of a mixed-use facility in a high-traffic urban environment.

What sets this project apart is how it creates moments of tranquility within Seoul's chaotic streetscape. The building's thoughtfully designed voids, balconies, and structural elements provide users with a sense of shelter from the overwhelming visual noise of Hongdae's signage and buildings, while still maintaining a connection to the neighborhood's energy. The vertical circulation through the building becomes an experiential journey, with users feeling as though they are moving through the structure itself, discovering unexpected views and spatial relationships along the way.

Design Team - LIFE Architects, established in Seoul, South Korea, represents a dynamic architectural practice that seamlessly merges innovative design thinking with contextual sensitivity. Led by principals Jeeyoung Han (KIRA registered architect) and Sooyong Hwang (Adjunct Professor at Hongik University), both holding Master's degrees in Architecture, the firm has cultivated a distinctive approach to architectural interventions in urban environments.

Since its founding, LIFE Architects has demonstrated their expertise through a diverse portfolio of projects, garnering recognition including the 2021 Korea Architecture Culture Award in the Emerging Architect category and the 2021 Jeju Architecture Award in the residential sector. Their design philosophy emphasizes the intricate relationship between architecture and everyday life, pushing beyond conventional architectural boundaries to explore new spatial possibilities and material applications.

The practice's methodology is characterized by their rigorous investigation of urban conditions and innovative material applications, as evidenced in projects like the Folded Ground Neighborhood Facility (2023). Their work consistently demonstrates a commitment to transforming rigid urban landscapes through thoughtful architectural interventions that respond to contemporary social and environmental demands.

LIFE Architects maintains a collaborative studio culture, combining the expertise of experienced designers with fresh perspectives from emerging talents. Their interdisciplinary approach integrates architecture, urban design, and research, resulting in projects that challenge traditional typologies while maintaining a strong connection to their context and users.