Project : Architecture

Contemporary Jeongja

Seoul, Korea | 2019
[Exhibited at the 8th Annual Minimal House exhibit]

The historical jeongja — a type of minimal pavilion set within the landscape — retains powerful cultural relevance today. Positioned at the edge of urban life, it served as a gathering place for poetry, music, and shared experience.

Like its predecessors, this contemporary version in the hills of northern Seoul commands diverse vistas that bring the city’s ancient and modern layers into dialogue. Its apertures are not merely windows but instruments for framing the surrounding landscape. Their curvature diffuses light, softening the contrast between inside and outside so that the eye moves comfortably between distant views and close interior detail. The same curvature plays a semantic game — making the building appear simultaneously thick and thin.

GRADATION WINDOWS: Like the decorative lattice windows of Suzhou gardens, deep curved apertures manage contrast between interior and exterior, easing the eye’s transition between the two.
CULTURAL APERTURES: Framing historically significant sites and landscapes, the curved apertures draw the outside in — diffusing both light and environmental sound to blend with music and conversation.
CONTEMPORARY TRADITION: The traditional Korean jeongja pavilion engaged the city from the landscape, with a forecourt for gathering. This contemporary version similarly maximizes views to historical sites — relocating the forecourt to the roof.
PLAN: A language of semi-circular curves guides circulation while orienting views toward the surrounding landscape.
SITE PLAN AND VIEWS: Siting and apertures are carefully calibrated to frame surrounding historical views without resorting to excessive glazing.
WEST-EAST SECTION
SOUTH-NORTH SECTION
BEDROOM RETREAT: Natural light descends from above into the pool-like bath, while glimpses of the cliff wall beyond become part of the interior scene.
ROOF CONNECTION: The building mass bridges the roof garden to the surrounding site.
FIGURE IN THE LANDSCAPE: The jeongja reads as an anthropomorphic presence — oriented outward, its apertures gazing in multiple directions across the site.
THICK AND THIN: Curved walls and openings create an ambiguity of mass — the building reads as simultaneously thick and thin.

Architect
John Hong AIA, LEED AP (principal in charge)
Seungjae Kang, Youbeen Um, Kyle Jang (design team)

Exhibited at the 8th Annual Minimal House exhibit

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