As you enter the center of 65-year-old traditional market in Seoul, Gyeongdong Market, you can find at a glance a very unique red brick building. The two-story building was originally built in 1955 for the purpose of a cow feed warehouse; five years before the market was established. After years of fading, this place now has been chosen as the new home from Studio Eccentric. In order to respect and utilize the existing condition as much as possible, newly added elements were considered to be minimized for harmony.

Studio Eccentric's office has been places on one side which was previously rented out and divided into kitchens, once serving for a food hall. Due to the kitchen pipes, a level of 500mm was formed along the side of the space. Programs necessary for a designer office were constructed upon each divided space, forming an unique contrast between the existing and the newly added context.

The space on the other side of the office was planned to run as a creative art space, and the finish of the space was planned not to stand out; bur rather a lot effort was put to supplement the invisible yet important elements to keep the old ones intact.

The two spaces, office and the art space, support two distinct functions in a different manner, but the overall atmosphere goes well together to serve as one mix-use building. Both serves perfectly according to each program, and especially the office is unique to see where the chefs used to cook food, is now where designers 'cook' their new designs.

Willow 997-1 is a new example of an office space that engages fully to balance the heritage of a traditional market. Due to its unique atmosphere of the neighborhood as well as the existing building condition, it is far from a normal office you can find and it is very distinctive as a creative design office space.

Willow 997-1 project has already been an incredible impact on Korean society. It has been shown as a new way to reuse the underrated spaces within traditional markets and to continue the heritage of the existing conditions. As the traditional markets have been solely preferred only by the seniors, this new adaptive reuse renovation impact allows the young generation to visit the traditional markets, understand the heritage, and redevelop in a way for all generations.