I have read an article, ‘There is only one particular place among the infinite points on the earth. Therefore, places have the power to make architecture special’. With this quote in mind, we wanted to incorporate historicity and locality into the design of Chwihoga to reflect a unique sense of place of the site. The area where Chiwhoga is located reportedly got its name from a story that a tiger would cry on a large rock in front of the village in the distant past. 

We could feel the traces and time of a tiger who would roam across the folds of the surrounding mountains; it reminded us of Korean paintings called 'Songhamaenghodo', a painting of a tiger under a pine tree, and 'Jukhamenghodo', a painting of a tiger under a bamboo. The natural background in the two paintings implies a place for meditation and enlightenment, and the tiger is depicted as a being going out for self-reflection. Chwihoga was built with the hope that it would be a place of ‘muwi ’* for everyone that stay there to purify themselves and get restored fully to their original naturalness. * muwi : the act erasing all artificial obstacles and immersed in something We arranged the space of Chwihoga along the axis of time with a story from locality. We laid out the space of Chwihoga to form a sequence from the reception area to the rooms, like the traces of a tiger that would have been accumulated on this site for a long time. 

The entry space of the long axis crossing the site leads through the water space and into a large rock crevice. Once inside, past the rocky-textured concrete walls, you will face a vertically long painting of a majestic tiger. You would feel as if you entered the non-daily realm of a tiger transcending time and space from a daily life of monotony. The paths leading from the grand space of power to deeper into each room are decorated with barks, which allows you to fully enjoy the rough textures of natural materials, creating an atmosphere that makes you feel as if in a forest. 

The interior design of each room was designed to embody a space where a tiger lives. The inner door you face upon entering your room is actually a painting on traditional Korean paper with natural paints from lacquer trees. The painting shows the coat pattern and texture of a tiger from a traditional view, with a warm greeting to you. The bedroom was placed on a higher level with a step difference from the bathroom and kitchen, based on the idea that a tiger sleeps in the highest place in its territory. 

Considering the characteristics of its being located in the highlands, the shape of the building was designed to ensure that the structure can withstand long winters and heavy snowfall. As with the internal properties, special attention was paid to the insulation of the exterior materials for maximum heat preservation for the building to tolerate harsh climatic conditions. A large window, occupying almost one side of the room, lets sunlight into the room, allowing for natural light.