Seoul-based firm BCHO Architects steers away from the conventional cliffhouse structures with Jipyoung Guest House — a humble structure that, instead of standing out among the terrain, is carefully subsumed into the earth.
As a residence that seeks a healing embrace when the building meets the earth, this quality is evident in every step of the building process. Each guesthouse is carved into the gully, the inhabitants literally lowering themselves into the earth to enter. Concrete and wood make up both the exterior and interior, with the outer walls intentionally eroded to expose its rough interior and make room for a thin layer of plant life. Large windows open up to a spectacular view of the sea, putting the inhabitant in between the harmony of water and earth.
The house was commissioned by a Korean mother with the intent to make her guests feel calm and comfortable, with the house itself embodying the motherly instinct of Mother Nature to soothe, protect, and embrace.
Photography © Sergio Pirrone for BCHO Architects