Site Area : 34,928 m2
Building Area : 19,112 m2
Total Area : 43,125 m2
Location : Busan, South Korea
[Description]
When designing the Busan Opera House, we considered two main issues. The first was how to extend Busan’s unique urban context to the site, creating an urban architectural landmark that reinterprets Busan’s identity. The second was how to create a hybrid architectural space that integrates various public programs, transforming the site into a culturally open public area.
Hillside Living Scape, Busan’s Identity & Continuous Urban Context
Busan’s landscape is dominated by mountains, with limited flat land, leading to residential districts developing at the foothills while downtowns and transportation hubs expand across the flat areas. The population surged with modernization, spurred by the geometrical advantages of the Port of Busan, the growth of Nampo-dong as a commercial district, and industrialization. Consequently, houses were built sporadically along the mountain foothills without comprehensive urban planning. Although the hillside slums, resulting from unplanned development and maintenance neglect, posed urban and social issues, several regeneration projects have successfully transformed these areas into unique and valuable urban spaces.
The spontaneous development of Busan’s hillside villages, shaped by geographical and social characteristics, has created a distinctive urban fabric embedded with the city’s history and life. It offers a three-dimensional living space with varying levels, providing residents with city and sea views and pedestrian promenades.
With this in mind, our goal is to extend the urban tissue and living landscape of the hillside village into the opera house design. By transforming residential buildings into public structures within the same framework, we aim to provide a continuous daily life environment for locals with ample public spaces. For visitors, it offers an opportunity to indirectly experience the unique residential urban fabric of Busan’s hillside village.
Reinventing the Opera House
The opera house is often perceived as a luxury for the elite, due to high costs and limited popularity, and tends to be seen as an ‘Urban Island,’ irrespective of its downtown location. Our second objective is to redefine the opera house, not as a mere fancy symbol, but as a place that encourages public use and accessibility. The opera house requires a large space, and underground construction is not feasible due to the site’s reclaimed land status. To mitigate the scale contrast, we propose creating a new hill on the site that can accommodate the vastness of the structure. This concept not only reflects Busan’s hillside living scape but also provides space for the opera house and a variety of public programs.
This new island will evolve into a lively public hub, serving as a community center for locals, offering rich cultural programs for opera enthusiasts, and becoming an artistic and cultural destination for the wider public.
Busan Opera House International Ideas Competition for Professional Group
Result : 3rd prize (Honorable Mention)
Designed by KIM MIN JAE
Collaborators : Kim Byung Chan, Chung Geong-O