06-09-2017

UNStudio urban identity on a human scale at IPark

UNStudio,

Hyundai, Edmond Leong, Rohspace,

Residences,

Colour is UNStudio’s answer to the repetitive walls of multi-story residential buildings in Daegu, South Korea.



UNStudio urban identity on a human scale at IPark

Rapid urbanisation and growth of cities in South Korea has resulted in construction of housing blocks consisting of identical apartments stacked one upon another, looking like an anonymous grey mass on an urban scale. UNStudio breaks the monotony in a project for Development Company Hyundai in Daegu Wolbae.

UNStudio breaks the grey monotony with a wall solution like a colourful weaving, an explicit reference to the city’s nickname of “Textile City”. Daegu, South Korea’s fourth largest city, is considered its textiles and fashion capital because it is home to numerous makers of fabrics and clothing and hosts countless trade fairs and events for the textile industry.
Colour is the most important way of dividing and connecting the apartments, creating a weave between different floors. Arranged in two distinct sequences for the two blocks that make up IPark, it reveals the complex as an inseparable whole in the urban landscape of Daegu, on the scale of a neighbourhood, reinforcing the community’s identity. Colour is used to identify key access points and establish a relationship between the inside and outside of the residential blocks by, for instance, choosing warm hues for the walls facing onto the courtyards to underline their function as urban interiors for the resident community. The courtyards play an important role in the IPark complex, and the landscape design was developed with Lodewijk Baljon landschapsarchitecten. In these “urban interiors” the architects create a flexible network of areas and pathways where residents can enjoy activities alone or together (library, swimming pool, retail shops and fitness centres, safe play areas, and places to relax and talk).

(Agnese Bifulco)

Design: UNStudio www.unstudio.com
Landscape design: Lodewijk Baljon landschapsarchitecten www.baljon.nl
Location: Daegu, South Korea
Photos: Edmond Leong, Rohspace
Aerial photos: © Hyundai


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