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Can a hybrid structure harmonize with nature and urban life, blurring boundaries between different programs, to create a new public function scheme?

GEOMDAN MUSEUM & LIBRARY

#competition, #architecture, #librarydesign, #re-use, #industrialzone, #citydevelopment, #urbanplanning, #geomdan, #museumdesign

Information

GEOMDAN MUSEUM & LIBRARY

In this project, we aimed to create a hybrid structure that integrates a library, a museum, and a multi-purpose hall, in a way that enriches public life and blurs the boundaries between different programs. The building is located in the corner of a city park, among a dense residential fabric, and is designed as an adapter that connects the city with the park and natural life with cultural life.


The form of the building is inspired by the two opposing hills that dominate the silhouette of the city and descend towards the project area. The proposed project creates a sculptural silhouette that begins to rise from where the hills end, in a prismatic composition that is in harmony with the natural corridors and urban corridors of the site. The composition is created by the combination of primitive prisms, placed in the area in harmony with the curved line of the lake, and generates various urban plazas outside of the building.


Inside, the design features high galleries, intersecting dramatic geometries, and interior gardens that enrich the interior and blur the boundaries between different functions. The exhibition areas are kept open by default, which can be closed if desired, and the exhibition alternatives are limitless thanks to the galleries and prisms at different heights in the interior. The library functions are set up on the upper floors facing the pond front, and the natural light from inside the library is reflected on the pond, adding a rich flavor to the park life in the evening.


Overall, this project aims to create a new typology of a library and museum hybrid structure that exists in harmony with nature and urban life, and enriches public life through its blurring of boundaries and sculptural form.

Client

Incheon Housing and City Development Corp.

Location

Geomdan, South Korea

Size

20.000 sqm

Program

Urban Design, Museum & Library, Cultural Complex

Status

International Competition

Collaborators

The design of our project was primarily focused on creating a hybrid structure that would not only harmonize with nature but also blur the boundaries between different programs to create a new public function scheme. Our goal was to develop a structure that would seamlessly integrate with the surrounding environment while providing a unique experience for its visitors.


One of the key elements in our design was the ecological bridge connections we created from the valleys on both sides of the project area. These connections were essential in linking the natural environment with the cultural life of the city. Additionally, we established a connection between the urban life and the pond by utilizing a ground-level axis that linked the city life to the lake, and a second axis that came from the ecological bridges at +9.oo level. We brought all these axes together within the building, creating a unique and integrated space that flowed seamlessly between the natural and built environments.


Our design also incorporates the use of primitive prisms, which are in harmony with the typologies of the surrounding rectangular structures, placed in the area in harmony with the curved line of the lake. The composition created by the combination of primitive prisms generates various urban plazas outside the building, adding to the public function of the space. 

KAAT ARCHITECTURE + URBAN

Caferağa Mahallesi 34347  

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FORM AND SITE  


A new generation library and museum hybrid structure has been designed in the corner part of the city park of approximately 93,000 m2, which is located among the dense residential fabric. Ecological bridge connections have been made to the city park from the mountains on both sides of the project area. Due to these connections, a level difference of 8-10 meters has occurred in the project area. Therefore, two important connections are formed. Urban Life and Lake (Park) connection and natural life connection through ecological bridges  


Proposed project designed as an adapter which connects city with the park as well as natural life with cultural life. The axis coming from the city life and the landscape axis coming from the natural bridges that is perpendicular to it are brought together in the building, and these axes are handled in harmony with the museum and library programs.  


Although the project area has a 90 degree site boundary on the city side, there is a concave boundary on the park side that follows the dominant geometry of the lake. Primitive prisms, created in harmony with the typologies of the surrounding rectangular typologies, are placed in the area in harmony with the curved line of the lake.   


Thanks to the composition created by the combination of primitive prisms, various urban plazas are generated outside of the building.

A sculptural figure connecting city, park, and mountains