Hapcheon Hwangmaesan Tourist Rest Area Building Between Azaleas and Silver Grass Wins Korean Institute of Architects Award

Selection of Buildings with High Architectural Achievement and Functional Completeness Intended by Architecture

Hwangmaesan Tourist Rest Area View [Image Source=Hapcheon-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam announced on the 29th that the building ‘Cheoljjukgwa Eoksaesai’ at Hwangmaesan Tourist Rest Area won the 2021 Korea Institute of Architects Award.

Celebrating its 44th year this year, the Korea Institute of Architects Award, established in 1979, is the most prestigious award in the field of architecture, given only to buildings with high architectural achievement and excellent functional completeness.

The Cheoljjukgwa Eoksaesai building is located in Gahoemyeon, Hapcheon-gun, and was constructed at an altitude of 850m within Hwangmaesan County Park. Completed in December 2019, it is a reinforced concrete structure with a total area of 445.02㎡ and one above-ground floor, built with investment funds from 181 local residents and budget support from Hapcheon-gun.

The ‘Cheoljjukgwa Eoksaesai’ building serves as a tourist rest area in Hwangmaesan County Park, situated on a path where azalea and silver grass fields spread, blending naturally without awkward boundaries between nature and architecture.

The building was designed in a semicircular shape following the mountain’s form, positioned close to the ground to lower its posture before the majestic nature, with open spaces in the middle of the structure to reveal the azaleas and silver grass.

Architect Lim Young-han said, “Just as Hwangmaesan boasts a more outstanding landscape than any other famous mountain, I hoped the architecture would resemble nature,” highlighting the importance placed on harmony between nature and architecture.

Jung Dae-geun, head of the Forestry Division of Hapcheon-gun, said, “Winning the 2021 Korea Institute of Architects Award will be an opportunity to promote Cheoljjukgwa Eoksaesai, a building that harmonizes well with the natural azaleas and silver grass, making it a place where anyone can easily visit and comfortably heal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.