Element House / Rintala Eggertsson Architects

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Element House

This architectural structure, situated in a river valley marking an edge of a forest park and the Seoul metropolitan area, is made to offer a shelter and an experience for all senses to the people on their way to nature or returning back to city; it is an invitation space for the users of the Anyang Resort.

The project wishes to create an inner world where memories and even dreams may have their moment and place. It is bringing together an archetype of a house, movement in space and the expression of four basic elements into a three-dimensional collage.The Element House is made for passers-by who wish to halt, rest and make their own understanding and use of a simple space made of matter and light. This architectural structure, situated in a river valley marking an edge of a forest park and the Seoul metropolitan area, is made to offer a shelter and an experience for all senses to the people on their way to nature or returning back to city; it is an invitation space for the users of the Anyang Resort.

The larger main space is a cubical space made of steel. It leads to four smaller wooden rooms situated in four different levels, from a cellar to an attic. Each small space includes a suggestion for use and the symbolic presence of one of the basic elements (fire, water, air, earth). The chosen main materials, rusty steel and wood, imitate the colors of the surrounding nature. In one of the rooms is an art work made of colored concrete by Norwegian artist John Roger Holte.The project wishes to create an inner world where memories and even dreams may have their moment and place. It is bringing together an archetype of a house, movement in space and the expression of four basic elements into a three-dimensional collage.

The Element House is made for passers-by who wish to halt, rest and make their own understanding and use of a simple space made of matter and light.

Project Data

Project name: Element House
Location: Anyang Park, Anyang, Seoul, South Korea
Type: Modern House, Forest House, Steel House
Floor Area: 72 m2
Completion Year: 2006

The people

Client / Owner / Developer: Anyang Public Art Project
Architects: Rintala Eggertsson Architects
Project Architect: Sami Rintala
Project Team: Eedo Space Architectural Design
Contractor: Anyang City
Artist: John Roger Holte
Co-operator: Finnforest/ wood material
Text Description: © Courtesy of Rintala Eggertsson Architects
Images: © Park Wan Soon