Seoul National University South Forest Research and Education Center / TAAL Architects

Located at the foot of beautiful Baegunsan Mountain, the Seoul National University Southern Conference Rim Estimation Experiment Station Education Research Building (Southern Research Forest Education Research Building) secures, manages, and exhibits a space for collecting, breeding, preserving, and researching native plants in Korea. It is difficult even to salvage vacant green space, either for education or restriction, and as a price to pay for the abuse of material civilization to “go back to nature.” “Southern Academic Education and Research” mediated the relationship between the building is nature, culture and human, and honestly, the construction people like each other. At the core of the scheme proposed here is the harmonious coexistence of landscape and climate, one of trees or one that grows on the ground from the outset, like wildflower training in new lab buildings. This is to ensure that it is true to nature, does not resemble a battlefield disguised as a soldier, and only has a discreet appearance. This means that architecture and space work according to that principle.

Synesthetic and especially nature-friendly architecture: It was hoped that the relationship between users (humans) and nature (climate, environment) built through this building would be concrete and sympathetic to each other. It is not an isolated architectural space that exists isolated from the surroundings, but you can feel a cool tingle when the wind blows. Next, I envisioned an architecture and space where dazzling light permeates the courtyard and terrace when the weather is sunny, and when it rains, the sound of rainwater pouring into the eaves and even the smell of humidity with a fishy odor. Along with thousands of native plant specimens that grow in vast areas of the mountains. The purpose of Baiyunsan was to realize an architectural space in which the southern academic forest, which is a living organism, permeates the inside and outside of the building. In this way, academic forest objectives such as conservation, research, exhibition and education can be achieved in a holistic and natural way through the building.

A modern reinterpretation of traditional hanok space: Our unique architecture, the Hanok, is an excellent example of this plan for several reasons. Hanok is a building that was born in our nature and climate, and has been integrated into the landscape for hundreds of years. In particular, temples and seowons located in mountainous areas, rather than in densely populated areas, are eco-friendly buildings that are optimized to harmonize with the nature of the Korean Peninsula.

4 ways to connect with nature: In addition, taking inspiration from traditional Korean architecture, various methods were planned to incorporate nature into architecture instead of architecture, and to face nature. Seoul National University Nambu Science Forest Education and Research Building will blend into the landscape of Baekwoonsan and become a representative symbol through various design proposals, including the above considerations.