BCHO architects: twin trees

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'twin trees' by BCHO architects in seoul, koreaall images courtesy BCHO architectsabove image by kyungsub shin

seoul-based practice BCHO architects (byoung soo cho) has sent us images of their newest project,'twin trees', a 17-storey office building in seoul, korea. located adjacent to the historical gyeoungbuk palace,samchong dong and the insadong area, the design seeks to reference and respect the pre-existing nature of the site by maintaing the flow of the circulation on both the street and basement level.

exterior viewimage by wooseop hwang

the plot, which was the former site of the demolished hankook ilbo building, features numerous smallpassages and alleyways which is an integral part of the location's urban fabric. in order to minimize disruption of this circulatory pattern, the design is read as two autonomous structures that share7 basement levels below grade. the chasm in between the two volumes maintain pedestrian movementby providing exterior sitting area as well as a linear bar underground.

street viewsimages by kyungsub shin

the overall forms of the towers were influenced by the shape of an old korean birch tree trunk, organic and sculpted as if moulded by flowing water. the reference allows for the structures toefficiently utilize the irregular site conditions which is composed of vaguely acute angles.horizontally running structural lines exaggerate the dips and bulges of the undulating facade.

undulating surfaceimage by wooseop hwang

glazed facadeimage by wooseop hwang

image by kyungsub shin

adjacent to gyeoungbuk palaceimage by kyungsub shin

image by kyungsub shin

images by kyungsub shin

from plazaimage by kyungsub shin

interior viewimage by kyungsub shin

atriumimage by kyungsub shin

image by kyungsub shin

glazingimage by kyungsub shin

image by kyungsub shin

entranceimage by kyungsub shin

general view

night viewimage by wooseop hwang

physical model

facade study - old tree trunk

architect's sketch

site map

site context

schematic diagram

site plan

floor plan / level -2

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level +3 (typical)

longitudinal section

elevations

post-tension structure

project info:

principal use: officetotal area: 65, 918.85 m2storeys: 8 below grade, 17 above gradestructure: post tension slab, SRC

project team: woohyun kang, erik horn, yongeun bae, sungwha kwon,jiyoung seu, kihyun park, nicholas locke, eric druse, joohyun park, juno ahnstructural engineer: dongyang structural engineers groupgeneral contractor: hanil engineering & construction companyservices engineer: han kook engineering co.facade contractor: lucky ability curtain wall (seoul, korea)facade consulting: simpson gumpertz & heger (new york, USA)