Site: Jecheon, South Korea

Status: Schematic Design

Program: Commercial

Client: YC Saw Mill

Roofscape Haus takes its inspiration from the mountainous landscapes of Jecheon, Korea and its heavy annual precipitation. The geometry of the roof is vectorized by the shedding of liquids that might accumulate on the surface of the roof. The architecture reflects the sectional conditions of traditional Korean Hanok roofscapes by utilizing a deep overhanging roof that blocks high summer sunlight and allows low winter sunlight to penetrate deep into the space.Roofscape Haus is a three storey commercial building housing a design studio on its upper floors, and its lower floors function as storage and a showroom for a timber manufacturing company. The structural framing system is constructed of glue laminated timber (glulam) which can span larger distances than traditional timber allowing design flexibility and complex sectional configurations without sacrificing structural requirements. Carbonized wood clads the building which retains the cellular structure of the wood and prevents the formation of cracks and weathering.The design optimizes the material values of wood as a renewable resource and its ecological system. The current debates on sustainability in architecture are focused largely on energy issues. However, the constructional techniques and material selection of Roofscape Haus aspires to Korean cultural sustainability.  Roofscape Haus explores a wider spectrum of design resolutions – those that merge engineering, environmental concerns, and the regional and traditional architecture of its cultural context in a way that provokes new forms of contextualism.