INTERNSHIP REPORT
RoA_RCHITECTS Seoul South Korea
LEA SEO LISAA Rennes
2018
1st year of interior architecture and design
The iconographic sources are personal images except the one bearing the mention « ©RoA_RCHITECTS ».
Thanks First of all, I thank my family, without whom I could not have seized the opportunity to do my internship in Seoul; the entire RoA team for the welcome, the kindness, the generosity throughout the course, for making me discover more the Korean culture; and my tutor Kim Kyung Do for his positivity and for having welcomed me so well as a trainee in the workshop. It was more than an internship for me, a personal and unique experience.
1
4 2
BEFORE
Why having chosen Seoul, the capital of South Korea as the intership? I chose this destination because of my Korean origins. Indeed, finding them in a professional setting seemed to me that it would be all the more rewarding. So, I consider Seoul as an inevitable destination. Why, well because this dual nationality can prove to be an asset in my career. Without adding the fact that the French influence brings added value in the architectural field in Seoul. But having come many times before, it was only as a vacationer that I used to see South Korea. Working here is a challenge and a discovery. Learning the world of work and its rather different ethics, the approach of architecture and design, its teaching and its environment are still to be discovered. Finally, South Korea, much poorer than France about fifty years ago, is now one of the most modern cities in the world. How did the country get up so quickly from the war? This Korean dynamism intriguing me, I wanted to learn more through this internship.
3
SEOUL 2018 6 4
Internship site
mĂŠ
The Seongsu district was once the shoemakers and leather merchants district. Today its industrial warehouses are revisited in coffee shop, shops, restaurants; Many companies and start-ups are revitalizing the business and breathing new life into the Seongsu district while driving up the price of real estate. Architecturally, the new trendy spaces blend with the old shoe and leather stores and create a whole new world.
tro
2
The location of the studio is on the 3rd floor of the AU Tower 68 building built by the studio itself. It has an automatic underground parking for storing cars by a mobile platform. The workspace is shared with a marketing company Patio.42, working sometimes in partnership.
I want to visit the Seongsu district
SEONGSU DISTRICT
5
8 6
INTERNSHIP INFORMATION TERM
2 months (06/01/2018 - 07/31/2018)
TIMETABLE
40h/week
THE STUDIO
ROA architects 301-94 seongsu 2-ga, seongdong-gu, Seoul +82 (0)2 417 0142
www.roa.kr TUTOR
KIM Kyung Do
7
10 8
SUMMARY Introduction My internship My missions Conclusion Appendix
10 14 16 42 44
9
INTRODUCTION
12 10
The name RoA comes from rhyzome of architect, referring to the underwater subterranean root filled with food reserves of some perennials. Like the roots, the rhizome contributes to the natural declogging of the soil, and even to the lasting fixation and stabilization of the banks. It feeds certain underground species. If it dies, it enriches the soil with organic matter. Here is the image of an arhitecture that contributes to its environment to which it is implanted.
11
SHIM Young Bo
YU Hee Ryung PARK Yun Jung
KIM Kyung Do
14 12
THE TEAM
KIM Kyung Do. Having studied at Hanyang University, and 2 years at ETH University in Switzerland, he has been an architect for about ten years.
PARK Yun Jung. Having studied at Hanyang University, is the first hired in the workshop. She is now the team leader.
YU Hee Ryung. Having studied at Hanyang University, studied for one year in Spain at UPV (Universidad Polytechnica de Valencia).
SHIM Young Bo. Having studied at Hanyang University, is the last one arrives in the workshop.
Created 6 years ago now, RoA is a paricular company. It is defined rather like workshop because it gathers a dozen independent architects, working under the same name. Depending on the projects, some may work together. Among them, my tutor Kim Kyung Do works with a team of three, Park Yun Jung, Hee Ryung Yu and Shim Young Bo. Two other student trainees from Hanyang University were present during my internship. The workshop offers varied services in both architecture and design, a pluridisciplinarity allowing them a fast growth. But it is with the Mapo project (annex) that the workshop knows a springboard. Demand varies from private housing to public spaces and offices. The architect’s support can range from the production of a building to the design of details.
13
THE ORGANIZATION As for the organization, weekly meetings are set according to the projects. At each meeting, a to do list is put in place and the work is distributed to the team. A person is mainly responsible for a project, but the help between each other and the sharing of ideas continue all along the work. At the reception of a demand, an introductory meeting with the client is fixed during which the request is studied as well as the progress of the project. in a second step, the architect is looking for a concept, the ideas are discussed within the workshop and the idea is proposed to the client. After having agreed, the details are specified throughout the progress of the work.
16 14
THE TOOLS The studio has a meeting room, a massage chair, a model making room with stock and samples of materials, a photo studio, a display for models of the various projects carried out at the entrance of the office, and a wall entirely devoted to the library where one can take his inspiration and enrich himself with knowledge. used softwares : modeling : Sketch up, Rhino plan : Autocad render : Rumio, Rhino, Photoshop
15
MY INTERNISHIP
18 16
My work in the studio was a general rule to help with the various projects in progress. By this I mean performing certain steps for a project. What I was asked to do was different from one diagram to another. So, the first step was to take over the project entirely and then analyze the demand in order to best match expectations. Making models, communication object design, layout, taking pictures, these were my different missions.
17
20 18
THE DAILY PAPER The desk I was assigned to was close to my colleagues and was composed of a computer station with the necessary software (rhino, sketch up, Adobe suite). The search engine is different in South Korea from France. Even though Google is used, many Koreans do their research through Naver (www.naver.kr), with some benefits. For example, for map captures on Naver map, the site allows to download blank maps or with the information of routes and settlements.
19
22 © RoA_RCHITECTS
20
MY MISSIONS All the missons performed during my internship are not detailed in this report. Realization of models, taking pictures on site, architectural design and design, layout, only the main projects are presented. Throughout these missions, my role has been mainly to bring my help on the reflection in premice of conception.
21
MISSION #1
24 22
This building is what we can usually find in the streets of Seoul, wether it is for the shape or choice of materials. Indeed, coming from a Japanese influence, the tiles are used a lot for the facades.
The first assignment I received was based on a project to add a floor to a building in the Songpa district in southeast Seoul. This building purchased by the client had the desire to add two floors so that they can contain a habitat, and businesses at other existing levels.
23
For that, a model of the existing building was necessary. So at a 1:50 scale, I had to conceptualize the model by starting to think about the manufacturing process and the choice of the materials. It seemed important to differentiate the structure by the use of different materials to highlight the construction of the model. So I used polyprolylene foam for the structure, and gray cardboard for the facades. Thus, all the elements were designed to be dismountable to facilitate the observation inside the building.
26 24
Base opening section
The base was made by the whole team (Yun Jung, Young Bo, Hee Ryung and myself). The underground level should had to be visible. It is therefore on the idea of ​​an openable base that the decision was made. In this continuity, the base would be represented by juxtaposition of successive layers in which the building is embedded. The choice of corrugated board gives more texturel to the model.
28
26
27
30 28
After shaping the building, the next step was to think about the concept of the elevation by taking into account the existing building and its particularities. The team had already looked into it in the first phase of reflection. The slogans had been defined and an idea had to emerge: the elevation would express lightness by creating a gap at the link level, would consist of solids monolithic or not while taking into account the particularity of the positioning of the beams at the corner which form a V section. It is by coming and going between drawings and models that my process of reflection was based.
29
32 © RoA_RCHITECTS
30
This wall is made of bricks which the size are 190 x 90 x 57 mm. I learned through this work that the dimensions of the bricks are designed with a proportion ratio: twice the width is equal to the length by counting 10 mm of mortar. Mathematically speaking, the function would be of second degree in the form of a.x + b. Thus, two bricks by the width correspond perpendicularly to a brick by its length which allows to harmonize the ends or angle of walls.
The second mission assigned to me is based on a design work. On a housing project designed by Young Bo, the construction was already underway upon my arrival. But some details had still to be thought such as the location and the concept of the mailbox.
31
12 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 12 6
34 32
My job here was to think about the design of the address number of the house on the entrance wall. By this, I mean the choice of typography, size, thickness, materials, and positioning on the wall. The size was an important factor because the numbers had to be legible for the visitors but not imposing at the request of my tutor. An opening for packages should also be considered.
33
MISSION #3
36 34
This multi-purpose building was entrusted to the team by a Korean ceramic artist. He wanted to run his Jinyoung Environmental Ceramics business while at home. In his workshop on the ground floor, it was important to dedicate a space for the ovens. On the top floor, a terrace is hidden in the intimacy of its private space.
The last mission I was assigned was in the area of ​​ sign design and signage. The space concerned is a project that the team was entrusted before my arrival in the workshop. It consists of 3 levels: the ground floor houses a workshop and a sales area, the first floor an office space, and a private home on the top floor and in the left wing of the building by which the inhabitant goes into it. Building logo, signage of the toilets and offices are the three points on which I was focused on .
35
The idea here is not only to design the signage, but also to think of a graphic identity. That is to say that all signaling symbols must be harmonious and in tune with the image of the company. Founded about 30 years ago, Jinyoung Environmental Ceramics has often worked for the city of Seoul to beautify its environments through ceramics. The city of Seoul has grown exponentially at the end of the war for about fifty years and the speed of development promotes functionalism rather than aesthetics. It is therefore in an artistic will that JEC proposed to color the daily life of the inhabitants.
38 36
For the research of this mission I based on the logo of the company which are the initials of the name of the ceramist. From there, I reflected on the positioning of the sign so that it is most visible and clear. Size also plays an important factor. The whole view with the building had to be harmonious to the eye. So I proposed several options by playing forms and writings. Regarding the fastening system my choice was stopped on a system of spacers (called legs of magpie in Korean) for an effect of lightness by the gap that is created between the sign and the wall. The material chosen would be metal. 37
40 38
The second point of the project I looked at is the signage of the toilets on the ground floor. The toilets are located at the end of a very long space with a very strong concrete presence. Still relying on the logo, I began a search for forms. The choice of the fastening system naturally focused on collage judging the most appropriate to remain in a simplicity. By juggling between full and contour, it turned out that for a reason of manufacturing technique, the outline is more difficult to achieve keeping the finesse of the line. Full, more present, is also more visible for optimal readability.
39
42 40
The last point is based on a subject similar to my mission # 2, that is to say on the design of a mailbox. But in this project, the name of the company should appear at the entrance of the building due to its function. Yun Jung suggested that I draw inspiration from the triangular shape of the balcony on the upper level to draw the one of the mailbox. It would have the same angle of inclination to accentuate this particularity. In addition, I deepened this idea through the back of the box, through which the mail is recovered, which would exceed the surface once past the front door, as embedded in the wall. But I was told that it was technically difficult and especially more expensive to achieve this embedding.
41
44 42
CONCLUSION It is not without saying that my internship at RoA has been more than instructive. It allowed me to learn more about the different aspects of a project and the steps to go before arriving at the birth of what can be produced by creativity and technique, while keeping an effective communication, important element, for an area where teamwork is essential. I have discovered how important the social dimension is in both internal and external dimensions. Moreover, these two months were not only an internship for me but a unique personal experience. A return to my Korean origins through a first opportunity where I could really live in the professional world in Seoul, to participate in the dynamics of this city at full speed. I was fortunate to meet a caring and generous environment, an environment of sharing of experiences and knowledge, of mutual aid not only professionally but culturally and humanly. It was an unforgettable adventure that strengthened my desire to keep a link with South Korea in my work.
43
This model is a concept premice of the project of elevation (mission # 1). it was made before my arrival in the atelier.
46 44
APPENDICES Mission #2 Mission #3 Other RoA projects Visits
46 48 50 52
45
48 46
© RoA_RCHITECTS
47
Continuity of the signlĂŠtique of the project # 3 concerning the office space.
50 48
courier new -bold
office Denk one -regular
office Fira Mono -bold
© RoA_RCHITECTS
49
Š RoA_RCHITECTS
This is a fairly large project that the workshop was recently entrusted with. The site is a former flour factory whose owner wanted to rehabilitate a complex of different services (shops, restaurants, exhibition space). To do this, the workshop wanted to preserve the particular history of this site. During my internship, several meetings were held at which I was able to witness. It was very interesting to observe the interaction and evolution of the team’s thinking. I was able to help in the realization of the model and in taking pictures of the site.
52 50
51
54 52
During these two months of internship, a visit was organized to make me discover one of their most famous project, a rehabilitation of oil tanks. RoA was chosen during this contest launched by the city of Seoul. Located in the Mapo district, the site has several oil tanks of different sizes, each holding a variety of functions ranging from coffee shop, meeting room to exhibition space and theater. The observation of the light work and the experimentation of spaces in situ has been very instructive.
53
56 54
55
58
57
60