2018
A storage , in the childhood memories of our generation, is always associated with a dark place (somewhere in the basement). It was a place where, upon entering, we would search for the light switch. Entering it meant stepping into darkness.
In the design of this project, the memory of darkness and light became the guiding concept: how could both of these sensations be experienced simultaneously?
To achieve this feeling, concrete was chosen as the material, as it has the inherent ability to be colored, while also evoking a sense of strength and stability, which was what the client sought from this storage: a place to protect their belongings.
Thus, we arrived at a rectangular concrete mass, one side gray, the other black. The bridge between these two sides was cast in a concrete gradient, to better embody that childhood sensation—the transition from light to dark.
However, the main challenge was achieving the concrete gradient within the constraints of conventional casting methods. In conventional methods, concrete is poured from top to down, with walls being poured first, followed by the ceiling. This approach would disrupt the continuity of the color gradient between the walls, ceiling, and floor, and the color shift would occur vertically along the walls, rather than horizontally as intended.
To solve this issue, the formwork was rotated 90 degrees from the conventional orientation. The formwork for the ceiling, walls, and floor were all assembled simultaneously, with the floor and ceiling positioned vertically for casting. This way, after the casting process, the mass was rotated 90 degrees using a crane, allowing the color gradient to transition horizontally.
Finally, for the exterior facade, we used mirror-like panels to reflect the surrounding environment, causing the project to visually disappear, further evoking the memory of being underground, as with the basement storage.
Â