Korean Institute for Archaeology & Environment By Ki Hyun Park + Hyunjoo

Korean Institute for Archaeology and Environment was founded as a research center of artifacts as part of the Department of Archaeology, University of Korea in 1995. Its main activities are the excavation, research, publication, exhibition, and seminars. Since its founding in 1995, the research institute has grown and existing facilities (within Korea University Sejong Campus) can not provide a good research environment. Thus, the new research center was planned in early 2009.

The customer requirement was that the total floor area exceeding the 2,300 square meters and a height of three to four stories. Programs divided into two groups according to function and plan service areas between two groups. Since the budget and construction time was limited, we decided to design a relatively simple. The site is located near the campus Sejong. Most of the surrounding cultivated land and our site is next to a road proposed to be built within a few years. The current access to the site is limited by a small paved road on the south side of it. The building was designed as a companion volume to the proposed road. Because the level of the north side of this site is three feet below the south-west, the placement of the building is planned in the south-west of the site to reduce the amount of land.

The building consists of two asymmetrical wings and a central core. Most research activities are planned in the long wing (called the research wing), where the directions for research and storage for artifacts. The short wing (called the wing of the seminar) is the seminar room, library and meetings. The research wing is divided into a brick storage finished on the first floor and in the directions of investigations completed lava on the second and third floors changing the mass greater than about two meters. A translucent polycarbonate end exposed on the staircase and the terrace on the second floor. The cafeteria on the fourth floor has access to the roof garden. Since no large building around the cafeteria has a great view through its glass windows.

The circulation of the building is divided in two. The first is to move artifacts and the other is for the researchers. Because of its role, the cargo space of the devices was planned at the southern end on the first floor. The whole process of cleaning, photography, and the storage starts from the cargo space. Two ladders were required by local law and u-shaped staircase was designed as the main vertical circulation and a direct flow step, which connects the lobby to the direction of research on the second and third floor, designed for more efficient movement.

As we focus in the design was to make the remaining space, more public spaces. Incorporating large and small terraces in many places, space research more efficient and by adding a translucent staircase exposed on simple and linear, we try to create space for recreation and at the same time be efficient.