Two Triangles, Ulsan, Korea | 2021

Architects: architect-K
Lead Designer: Kichul Lee
Design Team: Gyuhee park
General Contractor: Chae Hun
Client: Greetvi
Photographers: Joonhwan, Yoon

A cafe is not anymore just a commercial space. The user’s action-taking place is quite public and open. The Cafe should serve as libraries, as spaces to meet friends or colleagues, as concert halls, as spaces to recharge or seek inspiration, and even as children’s playgrounds. Cafes can be the place to let people feel the value of architecture. The architects allocated two triangles that were derived by considering the shape of an obtuse angle along the lines of the site.

The allocation is the strategy to make two different ocean views of East and South, providing the experience of going back and forth between the two triangles of different levels. In contrast to the notion that the intended scenery would open up if the user follows the neatly organized circulation path, the potential for choice was necessary for determining the circulation inside the building, and there is an unfamiliar feeling that the impression is continuously cross-edited according to their selection.

As a result, the experiences from the scenery of the ocean in the intended spaces become ‘Moments of Space,’ which are instantly recognized and operated by users. In that process, the café’s function, such as libraries, salons, concert halls, and recharging spaces, has been exceptional in their daily lives.

The next is the architect’s clear intention to achieve the quality of space: In order to enhance their immersion level, the interior and exterior materials are simplified to exposed concrete; the newly-blended and created terrazzo floor, in addition to the ceiling surfaces divided by formwork lines as the vertices, give a floating color and texture; the walls that control the reverberation of sound by rendering the concrete surface uneven with chamfer strips; 25mm-thick steel curtain walls applied to avoid blocking the view; the part connected to the transom is flattered to appear as a single member; and the poster-tension method was applied to the 20m-long hypotenuse open to the sea for a dramatic experience. Two Triangles offers an enchanting encounter with nature through the geometric plan, ascending circulation, and a palette of monotones.