Interview about Park Avenue Complex Commercial Space, winner of the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award 2024
Park Avenue specializes in relaxation and landscaping by providing open space and landscaping space, and connects adjacent linear parks. Through this, it was defined as an urban living room concept that is connected to the surrounding residential complex. As a living room in the city, it was planned to be a unique space of everyday life that provides inspiration to users by adding an extraordinary experience to the connection with the park and the relationship between pedestrians and vehicle users. Through this, users can enjoy convenience, taste, and style in their daily lives.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsFirst, we focused on the residential environment of 20,000 apartments surrounding the site, and Park Avenue will be located at the center of it. We interpreted the residential environment around here as each room in the house, and derived the concept that Park Avenue functions as a living room at the center. This is an interpretation of the concept of the flat functional organization of a house expanded to an urban concept. In order to expand the function of this living room, we planned it with the idea of guiding pedestrians to the inner avenue through a passageway for the apartment residents behind, and connecting it to the adjacent neighborhood park.
Park Avenue is a densely populated commercial complex, and there were limitations in terms of the size of the site, such as the obstruction of traffic lines due to its own landscaping and rest areas. Therefore, after analyzing the surrounding environment of the site on a macro level, we found that the adjacent neighborhood park was linearly connected to the nearby subway station, and people mainly approached the subway station through this park. We planned to place the rotating swing and fountain in the closest location to the park, connecting the park and our site, so that people would naturally gather and pedestrians would flow in.
03. Vertical movement is very important for upper-floor tenants in commercial facilities with a high floor area ratio, which are three or more floors. Since the upper floors are mainly visited by users with a purpose, interest and concentration in the commercial environment may decrease. Although it was not realized due to budgetary issues, we proposed media poles or walls so that users can have a consistent experience across all floors. Another thing is that the transportation system on the upper floors should be intuitive so that users can easily reach them without confusion. Therefore, escalators were placed in accordance with the direction of movement from the first to the second floor, and elevators were placed at the entrance to the first-floor commercial area so that users can be transported to all floors efficiently.
In order to bridge the gap between shopping and resting, we studied the types of resting spaces. For example, the path-way type that is easily recognized within the range of vision while walking, and the type where you can stay and rest. This was accompanied by detailed planning such as arranging outdoor furniture at an angle that does not make eye contact with pedestrians, and resting spaces and design elements in appropriate places were placed to maintain the interest of the commercial environment and increase the user's stay time.
The Korean housing market has been gradually becoming smaller due to the increase in single-person households. In other words, the exclusive area used per person in residential spaces has become smaller. We wanted to relieve the stuffiness and provide leisurely rest to users living in these dense and compact urban lives through large spaces such as large spaces and courtyards. Users will have an experience that complements their home through park walks, sightseeing, and comfortable resting spaces. Through this, we hope that the commercial environment will function as a city living room for modern people.
Park Avenue was not able to provide enough outdoor recreation space of its own due to the limited land size. We were able to connect the adjacent linear park and the inner courtyard of the Avenue with play items that children would enjoy, such as a fountain and a swing that are not present in the park. This was planned to bring people together with their children in front of the park-side tenants and allow pedestrians using the park to naturally enter our site.
The architectural language of Park Avenue began with the symbolism of its location as the central commercial block. We wanted to create a façade that would be iconic in both the foreground and the background, unlike the many commercial facilities nearby. We designed it to convey rhythm and distinctive elements according to the speed of approach of pedestrians and vehicles, and through this, we wanted to give it a representative character as a commercial block. Thus, we wanted to draw in the residential complex surrounding the commercial block to this symbolic commercial facility.
Innovative ideas are easily damaged or degraded during the design process for various functional and institutional reasons. As a strategy for a new approach, we adopted the idea when the aesthetic elements match the functional purpose. For example, we applied the separate mass design with the entire curtain wall finish to the park side, and gradually changed the size of the louvers on the façade to convey a sense of rhythm considering the pedestrian's line of sight, but applied the louver design from the second floor, except for the first floor where the exposure should be maximized.
We believe that when a complex commercial facility is combined with content, its function is further enhanced. In addition to simply purchasing goods, users can enhance the quality of their experience through cultural content and rest facilities. They can pursue more diverse satisfaction according to their lifestyles within the commercial facility, and we believe that such a platform can sufficiently function as an urban living room in densely populated urban areas. Therefore, we expect that various platforms specialized for each regional urban environment will emerge in the future.
Modern retail forms are becoming increasingly complex. In that sense, Park Avenue can be said to be a type of general commercial facility with high density. We analyzed the user's approach, the flow of movement within the store, and the user's behavior throughout the process, and studied the necessary design based on the scenario. We believe that sustainable activation can be achieved when design goes beyond simply showing visual elements to users and provides the physical elements necessary for users according to time, place, and situation.
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