Water That Washes Everything Away
Seung Gu Kang
South Korea
© Seung Gu Kang
© Seung Gu Kang
© Seung Gu Kang
Water as Façade!
Facility systems in architecture, such as water storage tanks and high-priced water tanks of apartments, have been spatially neglected compared to its role, but Okdong Reservoir, which prevents flooding in Yeocheon Stream, Ulsan, tries to break down this concept and make a new attempt. Therefore, the water tank, one of the essential but neglected programs in the general bathroom, is placed on top of the bathroom to obtain visual symbolism and functionality. The aquarium floating in the air is not a program that is ignored, but a new standing surface representing storage facilities, and it is a medium that can best express the original role of the toilet.
Massing Process
1. A grid is formed as an extension of the 4m-spaced metasequoia forest formed on the side road of Ulsan Grand Park to form a transition from nature to artificial structures. This is a facility that can be experienced before arriving at a storage facility that protects Ulsan from flooding and allows you to feel the meaning of the water storage facility and the toilet program itself.
2. Space is formed to illuminate oneself in the water as a core space and is surrounded with layers. In the middle, there is a well that reflects itself, a waterfall surrounding the well and a loop, a space for toilet programs next to it, a water space for a certain distance from the bathroom, and finally a miniature loop of a storage facility surrounded by nature and water space.
3. The space that used to be a toilet cubicle is placed in contact with the core space in the minimum area so that the center space can be opened on all sides of the square.
4. The road to Aquagora, the central space, misses the center of each side of the square, making it possible to enter while looking at the space where one can wash oneself away rather than looking at the well, the core space of the building. This serves to make the circulation free and is a form that melts the advantages of the scattered planes mentioned above.
5. Next is placing water on top that contains the essential meaning of storage facilities and toilets on top of the planar shape created above. The cubicle, the meditation space, the hand washing space, and the waterfall at Aquagora, serve as a fall.
The bathroom should be a space for emptying and a space for washing and awakening the five senses. The Public Toilet should be a primitive space where the character of the programs are maximized.