Be part of our tour of Taikaka Home, a slice of New Zealand in Seoul

The Seoul neighbourhood of Hannam-dong, overlooking the Han River, is dwelling to a few of the wealthiest households in South Korea (the household of the chairman of Samsung amongst them). Right here, on the hill above the Samsung-owned Leeum Museum, the homes are grand, however that’s not the one cause they give the impression of being fairly completely different from these in the remainder of the town. These houses are largely utterly blocked from view from the road, with excessive partitions and fences sheltering the high-profile properties from prying eyes.

Tour Taikaka Home

Amongst these formidable mansions, there’s one which stands out in each color and form – a black constructing wrapped in wood fins. Up shut, the patterns on its perforated ‘roof’ construction come into sharper focus, evoking a hen’s nest. ‘There wasn’t any actual intention behind the form,’ says Nicholas Burns, the architect who designed the home. ‘It was extra one thing that got here out naturally once I was drawing. Nevertheless it creates attention-grabbing mild and shadow patterns.’

Recycled teak present in a 300-year-old Dutch constructing in Java, Indonesia, was used for the fins. They had been dropped at Bali and milled into the cladding at Burns’ workshop – his studio has a base there, in addition to workplaces in Australia and Portugal. Darkish colors had been chosen for the outside as a result of teak lightens over time. ‘I feel the purpose was to make it quiet, to make it take in mild moderately than replicate mild and for it to climate,’ says Burns. Enclosed within the teak fins is a darkish zinc constructing with sturdy, closely insulated partitions.

The four-storey dwelling was commissioned by Seoul-based, New Zealand entrepreneur and artwork collector Adam Ballin, who lives right here together with his South Korean spouse and two kids. ‘I didn’t need to stay in an condominium,’ he says. ‘I needed land and a house for my household – a sanctuary, an area that had every little thing I wanted inside its partitions.’

His intention was to have the ability to shut the gates and really feel away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul, and to be self-sufficient. He named his sanctuary Taikaka Home, which, within the native Māori language of New Zealand, means ‘heart-wood’, or the center and strongest a part of a tree. His aspiration to construct a robust household is mirrored within the design of its base – utilizing wooden at its coronary heart.

Two kinds of wooden had been used for the inside – French oak on the ceiling and bathroom oak for the cupboard joinery. The latter is oak that has been preserved in peat bogs for lots of or hundreds of years – it comes with a carbonised end, which supplies it its black color. Wooden and limestone had been the 2 supplies used persistently all through the home. 

Sunken under floor degree is a wild backyard courtyard, whereas simply above it lies one other out of doors space with an al fresco cooking part. ‘The concept was to introduce nature into the centre of the home virtually as the point of interest,’ says Burns.

The broad, floor-to-ceiling home windows going through the mountains and cityscape carry within the pure environment, too. One other ‘mini’ backyard spills out from the lounge. It ‘frames up the buildings under and intensifies the views of the mountains so it makes the mountains come nearer,’ based on Burns.

Nature can also be current inside the home by way of a set of artworks by New Zealand creatives. Hanging within the lobby is Invoice Hammond’s Placemakers. ‘To me, that is New Zealand artwork at its best,’ says Ballin. ‘It’s virtually primaeval; the birds are holding guard over a sacred land, pushing again the settlers. I like the sensation of the portray, its deep inexperienced envelops you and cools the area down.’

Subsequent to the basement pool is Michael Smither’s Rock Swimming pools, the most important piece the artist ever painted. ‘Each time I stroll previous it, it jogs my memory of the attractive clear rivers of New Zealand,’ says Ballin. ‘It’s virtually surrealist, nevertheless it ties the rooms collectively.’ Actually, the house’s swimming pool was designed to be like a rock pool; all its edges are curved as in the event that they had been carved out by the ocean.

Burns designed the area with Ballin’s expansive artwork assortment in thoughts. ‘All the partitions are clearly positioned in methods to go well with the artwork,’ he says. ‘Museum-grade lighting was used as a result of that is essential when it comes to defending the art work and giving a really even, true color and lightweight to the works.’

Connecting the flooring is a one-of-a-kind walnut and brass elevate piercing by way of the center of the home. The work of German designer Valentin Loellmann, who additionally created furnishings for the home, its beautiful look is extra of a sculpture than a elevate.

Regardless of Covid, development took solely 13 months to finish because it kicked off on the finish of 2019. One of many many beauties of this home, Ballin instructed Burns after shifting in, is to have a skylight over the en-suite bathe in his bed room. What could possibly be extra luxurious than having fun with the intense blue sky within the morning and the moon shining down at you at night time?