Location: Mountain 101-1, Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Use: Observation tower
Site area: 277.117m2
Built area: 140.13m2
Total floor area: 143.57m2㎡ Floor 1F
Structure: Steel frame structure
Architect: Yoongyoo Jang, Changhoon Shin
Design team: Youngdong Goh, Myeonggil Jung, Jiyeon Woo, Sohyun Yim, Yongchul Lee, Seoyeon Joh, Jaeho Song, Hyejung Kwak, Changgeun Lee
Photographer: Sun Namgoong
About UNSANGDONG Architects Cooperation
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YoonGyoo Jang 
ChangHoon Shin
An architect group UNSANGDONG Architects Cooperation has formed with Professor Yoongyoo Jang and Chief manager Changhoon Shin as a key person, and they are an architect group who experiments with conceptual architecture to manifest the potential of architecture as cultural contents diversely.
Through communication in diverse fields like an architect group UNSANGDONG, gallery Jungmiso, UNSANGDONG publication, UNSANGDONG art, YOOEDI interior, etc., they tried to realize the architectural depth. Also, they’re doing various exhibitions and planning. Via UNSANGDONG, they are working as a leading architect who leads architectural experiments of Korean architecture.
In recent 2018, they awarded a Grand Prize of Seoul Architecture Award with ‘Sopoonggil Community’, and became a Winner of the Public Space Part in The Plan Award, which is a famous architecture magazine, with ‘Hannae Forest of Wisdom’, and at the same year, they awarded a Top Prize of the Seoul Architecture award and Completion Building part of the Korea Architecture Culture Award.
In 2017, ‘Hannae Forest of Wisdom’, has awarded the Korea Space Culture Award Street-Yard Prize(Minister Prize of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), Best 7 Architecture of the year(Korean Institute of Architects Prize), and a Grand Prize of Korea Public Architecture Award together. Besides, they have Awarded various prizes with Bogojae, University of Seoul landscape complex, Gallery YEH, etc., and were invited to guest lectures home and abroad, and they are expecting their activity as a worldwide architect.
Imagination Pavillion was a project suggesting the existing old observatory to the new one. The observatory for amusement and a view where we could meet nature and overlook cityscape doesn’t only serve a functional role but also would like to suggest a pavilion with new imagination. The barrier-free zone which is located along a trail is a regional nature community space that is most loved and used by local people who are meeting nature.
The Imagination Pavillion which has installed at the peak of the trail is a final destination for easy strolling but also a connection between another nature world and the city, new landscape amusement, and a starting point for the other journey. We designed a panorama vertical trail which is a playground for a relationship between nature and inhabitants, which naturally gets related after watching the nature landscape at the observatory, and also strolls inside the forest. Through this, it suggests a poetic pavilion assimilates with nature, incorporates and amuses the forest and sky, and an attractive observatory that actively combines formative mystique and nature inside the mountain.
Culture-Art Playground inside the Mountain
When strolling along the trail, two streamlined shape staircase and one elevator could be met at the observatory. Users can freely choose how to go up to the observatory. Two stairs present different perceptions and landscapes when going up and down. Hope going up and down the streamlined shape staircase turning body all around could be another amusement of walking.
With structure columns supporting the observatory, a staircase on the other side, and a reflection-type stainless ceiling light on the bottom part of the observatory, the Pavillion becomes a three-dimensional aperture of the landscape which makes us understand Bulam Mountain’s nature with different emotions and senses. We hope this three-dimensional and strange landscape where an artificial pavilion and nature meets abruptly could be another fun culture-art playground inside the mountain for the observatory users.
Poetic Nature Observatory
Bulam Mountain is low in height, but its shape is a heavy rock mountain and a valley’s line, and tree crowds are diverse. An observatory deck is a place where the mountain and sky could directly commune. The streamlined shape observatory deck secures a view to the Bulam mountain and city to the maximum and subdivided an area for near approach so that it could have diversity in landscape.
The shape of the poetic language provides an inspiration assimilates with nature to the citizens, and it’s a poetic nature observatory open to anyone.