An innovative South Korean architecture firm, Cho and Partners describes architects and designers as a creative team that enjoys exploring space. Of all the spaces that the firm has built, organized, or disassembled, no space has presented the specific and distinct challenges of deDear Yeonnam.
Nestled amid multi-national restaurants and shops in the Yeonnam-dong neighborhood of Seoul, deDear Yeonnam is a private residence that sits on a tract of land that measures just 130 square meters. Rather than clutter this small plot with a bevy of design ideas, Cho and Partners concentrated on faithfully materializing the space that their clients (a married pair of fashion designers) desired, a structure that would accent the aesthetic properties of their furniture and paintings. Cho and Partners took in consideration not only the large pieces such as the couch and table, but also the placement of small items such as speakers and pendants.
The result is a strikingly geometric structure with an exterior that resembles a series of stacked wooden blocks. The owners asked for a studio style interior that brought the living room and the bedroom into unity. Cho and Partners seized on this request as an opportunity to open up the layout, creating a mezzanine that evokes a maximum sense of space under considerable physical constraints.