Nameless Architecture, a New York & Seoul- based design studio established by the supremely talented duo- Unchung Na & Sorae Yoo is creating a buzz in the world of architecture. The duo loves to experiment with ‘contradictions’ in architecture. Their unique style of working with the ‘opposites’ can be seen in their buildings where the simple boxy volumes are juxtaposed with fluid walls. The office has bagged numerous awards, such as the AIA New York Honor Award, the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects, AIA NPNY Award, Kim Swoo Geun Prize, Preview Award and Design Vanguard Award from Architectural Record.
1. Café Teri
Location – Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon, South Korea
Area – 810 sq.m.
The structure is divided into 2 buildings housing a cafe and a bakery.The buildings, slightly shifted from each other, are placed to face each other around a central court. The walls of the building flow into the courtyard blurring the lines from where the building ends and the courtyard starts. The building is cooked from rough concrete bricks that emphasize the continuity of the fluid walls.These fluid walls flow in the interiors as well, enhancing the spatial quality of the cafe. The courtyard knits both the buildings and the outdoor together making them look like a single entity.
2. DH Triangle School
Location – Namyangju-Si, South Korea
Area – 2628 sq.m.
The form of the building is derived from its neighboring context. The triangular edifice has a playground to its North, an existing school building to the West and a wooded hillside to its East. The presence of 3 varied surroundings made the architect treat all the three elevations differently.
The East and the North facade have a transparent skin that is defined by vertical louvers which regulate the sunlight entering the structure and also render privacy to the structure. Whereas the West facade is made of concrete to restrict its interference with the existing middle-school building. The concrete facade has a huge triangular window that continues to the third floor.
The ground floor encompasses administration rooms, staff rooms and a library. The first floor of the building houses a triangular open-to-sky central courtyard surrounded by glazed walls on all three sides. The corridors on all floors face the courtyard knitting a continuous relationship of its users with the outdoors.
3. RW Concrete Church
Location – Namyangju-Si, South Korea
Area – 3095 sq.m.
The RW Concrete Church displays an ensemble of different geometric volumes stacked together. The Church is shaped into the outline of a cross. The building is wrapped in single material throughout i.e concrete. The traditional bell tower is replaced by the holy cross which is also a part of the building.
The visitor is welcomed into the building by an empty concrete yard on the ground floor. This acts like a flexible space open to the public for social gatherings. Upon passing the yard the flight of a closed staircase takes you to the chapel, three storeys above. Once you become familiar with the dark, the staircase lands you in the room of light, a box filled with light cantilevering 6.9 meters over the site. The floating box serves as a vantage point before entering the church.The transition from dark & closed to bright & open knits the dynamics of the space, rendering a spiritual experience to the visitors.
The seatings are designed on a slight slope which give the user a slight hint of attending the service on a low hill. The only thing that stands out in the room is the beam of light entering the space from the narrow clerestory windows.
4. S Library
Location – Seoul, South Korea
Area – 1157.65 sq.m.
S Library is a new structure built for an existing school. The building faces the school’s playground. It is a solid rectangular box with walls flowing towards the playground merging the lines from where the building stops and the ground begins. The slip-down wall becomes a playful feature initiating new relationships of the building with the children. A 40 m long bench is added to the building facade where children can sit, relax & interact. On the other side, the wall flows down and extends outwards forming a space that will witness a plethora of activities such as student performances, outdoor games, etc.
The library is on the second floor and the first floor has a reading room. A terraced bookshelf connects both floors together and simultaneously becomes a place of interaction. Instead of filling the room with bookshelves, floor-to-ceiling shelves are placed in the peripheral area. The central space is completely devoted to the visitors, making the library more than just a place where knowledge is exchanged.
5. B Gallery
Location – Inge County,Gangwondo, South Korea
Area – 4428 sq.m.
The site is located in an exquisite valley where the mountain range meets the water. The house consists of three individual built masses, a water space and a deck that stitches them together. All three blocks are oriented accordingly to face toward the waterfront and capture the infinite nature from different angles. All the built forms stand rigid with geometric volume and sharp edges.The buildings extending outwards appear to be floating on the rocky terrain. With its concrete skin and boxy form, the building doesn’t shy away from standing out from its neighboring landscape.The interior materials sync with each building block’s program: a pristine white wall for the gallery; wooden finishing for the music room; stone and wood for the residential space.
6. Dialogue
Location – 61, Heyrimaeul-gil, Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju-si
Area – 231.5 sq.m.
The project is an outcome of a series of dialogues with the site, material & experience. The site context is such that it observes a large amount of floating population throughout the day. To maintain a relationship with the people, the first and second floor consists of a cultural space with a transparent skin. The transparency of the building invites the people inside the structure. The site facing the peaceful hills on the north side is connected to the outside skillfully through outdoor circulation. The circulation of the building is carried out by a dramatic outdoor staircase that wraps around the building. While the first two floors are devoted to the public,the third floor consists of a residence. In order to maintain the privacy of the house, the front facade has solid walls and majority of the windows open to the landscape behind. Thus there is a gradual change in the degree of transparency of the building as we go up. A single material i.e. Concrete is used throughout the structure. The built form appears to be rigid and fluid, all at the same time.
7. AeLe House with 9 Rooms
Location – Gwangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Area – 664 sq.m.
The site lies in a quaint mountain range near Seoul, amidst a dense forest. The house consists of 9 rooms planned in a rectangular grid of 3.6m x 3.6m, connected without any corridors.The rooms have more than one window to frame the beautiful scenery outside. Eight out of the nine rooms have exterior walls which act as a medium of interaction with the forest outside. The central room has a circular skylight in the middle which captures clouds & rain. A porch on all four sides of the house, subtly merges the indoor spaces with the forest outside. It also hosts multiple outdoor activities.
8. House of Green
Location – Inje County, Gangwondo, South Korea
Area – 4060 sq.m.
The House of green is a place where plants and human beings coexist. The transparent house draws a thin line between the inside & the outside, architecture & nature. The glass roof is made up of asymmetric gables mimicking the flow of the surrounding landscape. The region gets a short span of daylight therefore the broad surface of the glass roof faces the south to get the maximum amount of sunlight.
References:
http://namelessarchitecture.com/
https://www.archdaily.com/office/nameless-architecture
