4. Separate Yet Together House
Seperate Yet Together House, 2016
YoungA Mun, Seonhee Lee
Under one roof, two separate households must coexist independently while respecting privacy and ensuring mutual comfort between them. Simultaneously, it’s important to distribute shared spaces strategically throughout the design to facilitate community and empathy between the occupants. Through extensive dialogue during the design process, the ‘Separate Yet Together’ housing in Segok-dong sought to reconcile differing needs by incorporating various spaces and their intended uses. Emphasizing minimizing the inconveniences of standalone housing through spatial planning and maximizing the utilization of diverse spaces, the focus was on providing opportunities for varied spatial experiences in everyday life, ensuring a joyful and contented home for all members of the different households and families involved.
The homeowners, a couple, wished for a safe and comfortable standalone house where they could live harmoniously with their second son’s family (including their son and daughter-in-law, as well as two grandsons), while also maintaining privacy and shared spaces. Specifically, the husband requested spaces for his hobbies of gardening flowers and vegetables, including a sizable balcony for indoor plant care during winter, within the couple’s area. The wife, who is a calligrapher, requested a small room and a loft space for quiet work, along with a small family room and mini kitchen on the second floor. For their son’s family of four, they allocated a playroom on the first floor for the young grandsons, and on the second floor, they separated the family area into two study rooms for the children’s use during their school years, alongside a separate area for the couple. Considering potential lifestyle changes, they desired separate living areas under one roof, but planned small openings at children’s eye level to allow access for the grandsons to their grandparents’ loft.