Collaboration : MURPHY/JAHN ARCHITECTURE, USA

The Yongsan International Business District will set a new standard for an integrated global city. Situated on a
high-profile site in the western side of the district, plot R5 houses a signature top-end residential building, 320m in
height, which will attract the most exclusive clientele from both Korea as well as the rest of the world. These
Pentominium units will provide unsurpassed urban living experiences, with spatial and privacy features normally
associated with individual houses. In order to maximize window views and create a sense of exclusivity through
minimizing the number of units per floor, two slender towers were chosen for the design. A simple square footprint
provides the geometry basis for each tower floor. To take advantage of the desirable vistas to the southwest, the cores
for the towers are shifted off center towards the northeast elevations. The resulting U-shaped usable areas can then be divided into one, two, three, or four units per floor, most with view access to the southwest. Around each unit, the
enclosure facade moves in and out from the square tower footprint to create customized bay windows, wintergardens,
and enclosed balconies. An exterior screen of vertical and horizontal bars is located outboard of the balconies. The
primary module of the screen is 5.0m tall by 3.0m wide to align with the facade geometry. In areas where increased
privacy is preferred, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, additional vertical bars are added within the primary module.

In addition to becoming the signature design feature of the project, the exterior screen provides four distinct benefits:
1. Provides solar shading to the facade, reducing the cooling load of the building
2. Enhances privacy between towers
3. Creates a visual and structural framework in which balconies and interior room projections can be inserted.
4. Maintains an ordered, clean visual appearance in front of the shifting enclosure facade