Concrete Bricks Flow into U-shaped Courtyard in Korea

Brief 

Nameless Architecture turned to rough concrete bricks to design the U-shaped two-building complex in Daejeon, South Korea. The concrete bricks cover a curved exterior that culminates in a courtyard between the two buildings.

Insight

Below the eastern foot of Gyeryongsan Mountain in Daejeon, South Korea, Nameless Architecture has designed and built Café Teri (카페태리, 봉이호떡). The newly unveiled structure is composed of two separate buildings housing a café and a bakery, while an intermediate courtyard completes the U-shaped ensemble.

The building is made of rough concrete bricks and curved façades that emphasize the continuity of the project and the fluid local topography.

while a courtyard settles between them. The two buildings are slightly shifted apart and their curved exterior walls flow down into the central yard. The fluid walls of Café Teri create an environment where the distinction between the wall and the floor is blurred, establishing a dynamic flow towards the adjacent forest.

The wall is actually continuous not only in the yard but also in the interior, connecting the inside and outside scenery through a stepped space. The uplifted terrain in the backyard forms a static spatiality while forming an intermediate place where people rest and enjoy their food and drinks.

The concrete bricks of the building emphasize the continuity of the flowing space, but at the same time, their rough texture creates a difference in boundaries through the change of light, shadow, and time.