L Shape House is built in a small valley about one hour from the metropolitan area of Seoul. It is a house for a professional couple, who visit on weekends and will eventually move to the house in a few years. It is designed to be sealable while the couple is working in Seoul.



The clients approached BCHO Architects after three years of research and visiting many other designed homes. They bought the land adjacent to a roadside with great open areas to the south and east. The house began as a square orienting itself to the mountain and trees.



The L shape is a practical way to create private exterior space toward the vistas and protecting itself from the noise of the road. Early morning light will enter the sleeping areas of the house as the couple are both early risers. The entire house is naturally cross ventilated to keep interior temperatures low and breezy in the thick summer humidity, when they occupy the house the most.

The main living space is partitioned with a movable wall system adjacent is the master bedroom and a covered deck to the south. The shaded space allows an intermediate area with accordion door system, a stained black cedar and painted Indian red interior, is completely secure while they are away in Seoul. The large southern overhang permits sun into the living space only in mid winter months and air can cool before entering the house in the middle of summer when the sun angle is much higher. The courtyard which results from the building L shape is filled with local white basalt stone which will reflect light up into the living space. The indirect light source is much more pleasant for these casual living spaces. The minimal amount of landscaping also provided a multi use space for activities with one planted tree to hold the corner.

Architects: BCHO Architects
Location: Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Project area: 892 sqm
Project year: 2009 – 2010
Photographs: Wooseop Hwang

BCHO Architects

Program: Art Pavilion
Location: Governors Island, New York
Building Scope: Diameter 40ft. / Height 40ft.
Structure: Hybrid structure (Pneumatic + Fabric)
Finish: Polyurethane, 600 Denier polyester fabric, Wool nylon

This proposal starts from the site-specific characteristics of the temporary pavilion. Governors Island, 800 yards from Manhattan, was closed to the public until 2004. Additionally, it has a flat landscape without landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. To overcome the public’s low awareness of the island, we propose that an artificial cloud pavilion be built. It would consist of an inflatable structure and yarn . People would be able to see this approximately 40-foot floating cloud from many high-rise buildings in lower Manhattan and other neighboring islands. This pavilion would not only define the site’s cultural boundaries but also promote the Pigment Festival, stimulating people’s curiosity.



NAMELESS is a concept-based design practice, with offices in New York and Seoul. Committed to “the simplicity on the unpredictable world,” we explore the words of architecture, art, and global cultural phenomenon. NAMELESS has worked on projects ranging in scale from a series of art pavilions to the cultural infrastructure in New York, creating alternative relationships between nature and artifacts. Recent projects include an ice pavilion in Winnipeg, Canada, collective housing in Tokyo, Japan, and a hill auditorium in Gyeonggi, Korea.  In 2011, NAMELESS was awarded The Architectural League Prize (formerly known as the Young Architects Forum) and an AIA New York Design Award, and in 2010, it was awarded the BSA Award for Design Excellence from the Boston Society of Architects and first prize in the Seoul Museum of History landmark competition. The office’s work has been widely exhibited and published in international publications, including Mark Magazine, Paisea Magazine, and Architecture & Culture.

NAMELESS