In Korea, most of multi-unit dwelling except apartments are in the housing culture history that single housings are separated to multi-family or multiplex hosing. Changes of Korean multi-unit dwellings such as putting outside stairs to divide single house to multi-family house, semi-basement housing, parking solution though piloti are remained in old highly residential area. The way of allowed type of living together on the land that calculated by density of single housing made a scenery looks likes a collage by constantly overlapped policy. Also by the point that typical types of multi-unit housings of each period are located together, can feel layers of time.

Namgajwa-dong where ‘the Rabbit’ is located also has coexistent scenery of gable roof of single housing and unidentifiable appearance of multi-family housing copied gable roof and attached roof tile next to rooftop’s parapet. But in this area, it’s hard to find multi-family housing with piloti and Gajaewool Newtown Apartments are located just on the other side. The start point of the thinking for design was this view. Layered times of living together.

In the picture, two slanted ivory colored brick masses are over the building. The name of ‘The Rabbit’ comes from this shape of two single housings which are raised on the air side by side. They divided by balcony between at the angle of setback for daylight. Actually, it’s on 5^th floor where lounge (living room+kitchen) of Multi-storied housing unit is located and the sunlight that was possible to get by setback angle of daylight, can comes inside to north housing or south housing by reflexing through high window. On second and third floor, place single story type housing to make it can use whole floor area just like a single housing. The reason we made a difference housing type between 2,3floors and 4,5floors and wanted to deal with each housing as a single housing is because we hoped this hosing looks like a group of different housings just as the name of multi-family housing. Also, because it’s a rental housing. We wished that people can make a choice to select types even it’s a rental housing..

The Rabbit is the second project of ‘Sae dong nae (New village)’ project which is a private development to make new types of housing culture. University student unites ’Mindalpaengi(slug)Union’ members took ‘Gajwagwan 330’(The Rabbit’s another name registered on Sae dong nae project) on long-term lease. This Union is a group of one university which is try to find a place for friends of housing disadvantaged class who worried about youth residential. In short, they have expectation about living together and be ready to do. However, because of the characteristic of ‘University Student’s’ housing Union, residents change for a certain period, so agreement of residents can be constantly changed. There can be lots of friends who want to share their lives actively or there can be less. Because of this obscurity, plan of lounge on 5^th floor was changed several times. At first, duplex lounge was connected as one shared space by putting glass door opening to same direction at the balcony between those brick mass. Then, it changed to shared balcony that people can meet only through glass door at different side of building. By providing a layer between privacy and share, if resident see glass door from living room, they can feel like there’s fence.  

About 2-3 floors single story housing, more focused on inside shared area not between area of houses. Place 9m long (includes balcony) shared space through balcony-living room-kitchen and rooms at both side if it. They can feel they appropriate area which is closer to their room also by this, degree of share can be made. Compare to similar 14.7PY size of housing, this long shared space is expanded outside due to balcony.

2, 3 floor’s balcony is facing to courtyard of first floor and housing in front of this project on south side shares this courtyard together. The most amazing point is that the housing in front of is the first one of ‘Saedongnae project’. Normally publicness and share are only considered at the meeting point but here, it could possible to expand it to the boundary of housing in front. It gave more wide range of possibility of what this 40PY of site can do for village. We placed ‘The Rabbit’ thinking about how can we make a courtyard that can share with housing in front and provide new street instead of dead end street meet with another side of the site. Just after scaffolding was swept, people started to use this new street. Also, piloti of housing in front became used as not only for parking but also for circulations. This housing became a part of this village.

If we think about it, density of housing area is important in the terms of providing conditions for living together more than just the number of engineer way. Architecture will be there when you may want to say that density of city and life are different problem.