Ra-goong Hotel by Gu-ga Architect

Ra-Goong, Kyung-ju, Korea

designed by Gu-ga Architect

This is a high-end hotel in Korea. It is very significant in Korean architectural society because of the increasing interest to Korean traditional architectures as well as the fact that this is the first hotel which followed the concept of Korean traditional dwelling.

 the beauty of Korea...

It is the reason it grabbed my attention. Unlike the dwellings in North America, Korean traditional houses define their boundaries in squares, which is very enclosed concept. In Korean traditional houses, it is common to have walls or fences along the four sides of the boundaries and courtyards in the middle.

In that way, the privacy can be protected while there is still the sense of openness due the central courtyard.

Also, it is very interesting when examining the spatial relationships between different types of rooms. Although each room is separated by walls, every room has direct access to the central courtyard which emphasizes the importance of the courtyard in Korean traditional dwelling.