House of Reason: A Space Completed Through Emptiness, A Home for Being and Reflection

The client’s fundamental question was existential: “How should one live, and what kind of life should unfold in this space?” As architects, this proved fascinating. Rather than focusing on room counts, dimensions, or finish colors, we engaged in profound discourse about creating “a place for contemplation.” This led us to envision the house not as a mere recreational space but as a ‘vessel of the body’ that embodies the resident's physical and spiritual presence.

What should a home mean to those who love and contemplate nature? While Cartesian spatial homogeneity and infinite expandability have led to global standardization—notably in modernism’s apartment complexes—Heidegger posited that human existence is rooted in dwelling, and only the poetic can truly dwell. Architecture fundamentally means ‘dwelling,’ a way of being on earth. Thus, we focused on space as architecture’s essence, where emptiness directly correlates to architectural utility.

This perspective guided our exploration of architectural essence through emptiness. We placed a courtyard southward, connecting to the adjacent park, and removed the eastern wall to fully embrace external views and light. We eliminated unnecessary barriers, allowing daylight, sunset glow, moonlight, starlight, and seasonal changes to penetrate deeply. Within this framework—where nature remains visible during cooking, dining, and daily tasks—we crafted a ‘house for contemplation.’

We placed a traditional hearth instead of a television in the darker northern space. Ancient living patterns or grand feng shui principles didn’t drive this choice. With the east offering rising sun views and pine trees, the south providing a naturally flowing courtyard and sunlight, and the west capturing setting sunlight, we lit a contemplative fire where the convention would place a TV.

The open garden is nature and a phenomenon that shares our life and time, while true residential rest comes through complete immersion in landscape and seasons. By dissolving boundaries between courtyard and forest, interior and exterior, the space achieves unity with nature while expressing Korean identity.

Ultimately, this house is a phenomenological space manifesting the will to become a “being.” Rooted in the earth, it draws natural changes into daily life as its inhabitant responds to these offerings, accumulating daily experiences. When gentle sunlight, moonlight, breeze, and cloud shadows become architectural elements, the house transcends mere physical structure. It resonates with its inhabitant, acquiring a soul, and transforms into a genuine ‘place of contemplation.’