With the start of the project called the Construction Plan for Building Five Million Houses, which started from the 1980s, Korea has seen urban re-development booms in cities across the nation. Big construction companies with the powerful financial ba...
With the start of the project called the Construction Plan for Building Five Million Houses, which started from the 1980s, Korea has seen urban re-development booms in cities across the nation. Big construction companies with the powerful financial backing could achieve 100% housing supply by pushing ahead with house-supply centered development projects, not considering residents' quality of life and an existing urban environment.
Such housing construction projects, which concentrated on the supply of housing, have been particularly prominent in Seoul. As a result, Seoul's unique urban structural change and historical memory, as well as its surrounding natural environment, have been destroyed.
Such housing construction projects, which concentrated on the supply of housing, have been particularly prominent in Seoul. As a result, Seoul's unique urban structural change and historical memory, as well as its surrounding natural environment, have been destroyed.
When the Hanok Conservation Zone was removed in the 1990s, such confusion was accelerated by indiscriminate redevelopment planning which did not consider the history, culture, and urban connectivity of the existing Bukchon. As a result, totally unrelated buildings such as business and commercial facilities started to fill in the traditional residential area of Bukchon, shattering the identity of Seoul.
In this study, among the sections in Bukchon, the section 4-7 of Wonseo-dong, which still has maintained a Korean traditional residential appearance, was selected; a existing urban structure and architectural elements were derived; and a planning direction was established. The spatial characteristics of Korea's traditional residential architecture were realized through moderinzation in this study's planning. This study suggested a collective housing plan appropriate for a traditional residential area by applying low-rise collective residential planning to the existing urban structure and appearance of the section 4-7.
In Chapter 2, the changing appearance of traditional Korean residential areas was investigated.
To do that, the change and conditions of collective housing upon the urbanization of the central part of Seoul were investigated. The changed appearance of Bukchon, as well as the changes in Seoul were also investigated as urban hanok's (traditional Korean houses) have been changed to multi-family housing as a result of indiscriminate development in Seoul.
In Chapter 3, previous studies on the spatial characteristics of Korean traditional residential architecture were reviewed in order to analyze the courtyard-centered spatial characteristics of Korean traditional residential architecture, which appear in modern collective housing. From the literature review, the expression characteristics of courtyard space appearing in modern collective housing, as well as the characteristics and spatial realization of tradition, were investigated. The spatial characteristics after dividing the layout into interior space and exterior space were also investigated.
In chapter 4, the planning elements were derived by analyzing the overseas cases of collective residential appearances within cities. With these elements, the urban structural characteristics of Korea's existing traditional residential areas such as residential lots, the structure of streets, a relationship between streets and housing units, as well as their architectural characteristics such as layouts and the composition of rooms and courtyard, were analyzed and applied to the architectural planning of this study.
In Chapter 5, based on the results of the previous analysis, a low-rise collective residential planning for the traditional residential area was created by setting a direction for planning, and by investigating the current conditions of the section 4-7 of Wonseo-dong.
By setting the above results as the image and memory of a traditional residential area, the following major concepts, which were derived from a traditional residential area, were applied to this study's low-rise collective housing planning:
First, by connecting ground tracks and streets of the surrounding land, a framework for the overall structure of land under planning was established. Access circulation of the complex, the size of each housing unit, and accessible modes to each housing unit were determined as well.
Second, by establishing a hierarchy in residential space, the process of access to each housing unit from service roads was designed to have a hierarchical spatial composition. This design was reflected on the access to each housing unit using the existing public roads. Additionally, streets within the residential complex and a courtyard space were formed to connect all housing units.
Third, by planning neighborhood convenience facilities in the area adjacent to the main road, the premises of each housing unit was secured and resident's communal space along the main road was revitalized. In addition, this planning aims to increase economic value within this section of Bukchon.
Lastly, the spatial composition of each housing unit was arranged around the courtyard in the center. To form a hierarchy within each housing unit, semi-private spaces such as livingroom and kitchen were placed on the first floor, and private spaces such as bedrooms were placed on the second floor. With the circulation planning centering around the courtyard space, architectural strolling was designed within each housing unit.
As a result, collective residential planning for a traditional Korean residential area should consider each area's urban structural characteristics. By doing so, urban planning, which respects the culture and history of a traditional residential area, can be created. In addition, to secure enough space for a courtyard, which is open space of each housing unit, and to ensure a natural skyline within hill areas, the limits of the current building coverage ratio, floor area ratio, and the height of buildings should be adjusted by revising the current Building Code. Appropriate assistance policies should be established accordingly.