Daeyang Gallery and House, Private gallery and residence in Kangbuk district, Seoul, South Korea
Daeyang Gallery and House is a structure featuring three copper-clad pavilions that rise above a reflecting pool, with gallery spaces extending below the water surface level. The building encompasses both exhibition areas and residential quarters integrated within this unified design.
Steven Holl Architects designed this structure, completed in 2012, which introduced a fresh approach to architectural space in Seoul. The project emerged from a specific vision of integrating exhibition and living functions within a single sculptural form.
The building's layout follows a 1967 musical score by composer Istvan Anhalt, translating musical notation into the physical arrangement of spaces. This unusual connection between music and architecture shapes how visitors move through and experience the interior.
The structure uses 55 skylight strips cut into the pavilion roofs to channel natural light throughout the building. Visitors should expect varying light conditions in different areas that shift as the day progresses, affecting how each space feels.
Glass lens strips embedded in the reflecting pool base create shifting light patterns on the white plaster walls and granite floors of the spaces below. This subtle feature reveals itself only when visitors enter the submerged gallery areas and observe how light interacts with the surfaces.
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