Loop House (re)Visited

Young Joon Kim -our Korean friend and collaborator on the Loop House- invited us to participate in the Delphic Games, an international competition and festival of culture and arts on Jeju Island in Korea. This was an excellent opportunity to check out the project that we never saw completed.

It was great to meet our client again and see him happier than ever. In Korea it is custom that the oldest son ‘adopts’ the parents. Traditionally they live together to deal with the difficulties that come with aging. We were told that as a consequence the oldest sons might find it rather difficult to get involved in a relationship. But thanks to the layout of the Loop House the parents decided not to move in. The house was not precisely what they would consider inhabitable. Rapidly after the house was completed our client actually got married! Now the family is extending further and the question is how the open plan will accommodate this. The dog already found a nice chalet in the back yard.

Walking through a real space that so far was just a virtual reality is an exhilarating experience. Familiar and still surprising. The spatial quality of the interior is convincing and the roof is absolutely sensational, but the most impressive ingredients are the ancient  trees in the patio  that give the impression that the house is carefully folded around them…