Gallerist’s House (2026)
Design: Prof. Seuk Hoon Kim / Hanyang University
Design Team: Jeong Eun Lee, Yoonhan Jeon / Studio Eccentric
Construction: MK D&C
Client: Private
Type: Residential
Area: 148 m2
Design: Prof. Seuk Hoon Kim / Hanyang University
Design Team: Jeong Eun Lee, Yoonhan Jeon / Studio Eccentric
Construction: MK D&C
Client: Private
Type: Residential
Area: 148 m2
Location: Seoul, Korea
Photography: Mingu Kang
'A Residence Curated by The Logic of A Gallery'
This project began with a single question, 'how can the spatial logic of a gallery be implemented into the conventional framework of a typical apartment plan in South Korea?' Rather than simply creating a home filled with artworks, the design team's aim was to translate the gallerist's way of seeing, arranging, and establishing the relationships between objects into the organizing principles of the home itself.
The existing apartment followed a typical residential layout, with a clearly divided living room, kitchen, corridor, and bedrooms into separate distinct zones. For a gallerist living with large scale paintings and a variety of artworks, however, a wall is not merely a boundary between rooms but rather becomes a surface for display. In particular, the need to accommodate a large painting in the living room area called for an approach in which the artwork would not function as a decorative element placed among furniture, but rather as a central presence capable of defining the character of the entire space of the apartment.
To soften the rigid and segmented nature of the original floor plan, curved walls and forms were introduced throughout the apartment. These curves allow spaces to remain distinct without becoming completely separated, while naturally guiding both movement and sightlines from one area to another. The transition from the entrance to the corridor and the living room, and from the living room to the kitchen, is conceived not as a sequence of disconnected rooms, but as a gradual progression from one spatial scene to the next. This approach reflects the way galleries establish relationships between artworks while carefully orchestrating the viewer's movement and perception. Circulation within the home therefore operates not simply as a path of everyday movement, but as a form of curated circulation through which space and art are experienced continuously.
Rather than adopting neutrality of the conventional white cube, the atmosphere of the apartment was shaped to express more of the gallerist's distinct personal taste. The deliberate juxtaposition of contemporary modern design with Korean objects was part of this strategy. A modern lounge chair is placed alongside with a traditional Korean wooden cabinet, allowing pieces from different periods and cultural contexts to coexist within the same setting. Rather than being unified under a single stylistic language, each object retains its own identity while forming new relationships with those around it. Much like curating works within an exhibition, the intention was to create balance through difference.
Materials were likewise treated not merely as neutral backdrops for art, but as active expressions of the gallerist's artistic sensibility. Wood, red travertine marble, and metal were introduced as accents in overall space, while boldly patterned tiles give the bathroom a stronger visual identity. In the master bedroom, the existing yellow-toned marble with its pronounced pattern was intentionally preserved rather than removed; a vivid red carpet was added alongside it, allowing two strong colors and textures to confront one another while still achieving an unexpected sense of coherence. Rather than erasing the existing conditions and imposing a completely new order, the project embraces what was already present and introduces new element to harmonize through contrast.
Ultimately, the typology of the gallery is not reproduced here through literal devices such as white walls or track lighting. Instead, it is expressed through the way the home is organized around artworks, the way spaces are discovered through movement, the way furniture and materials are
curated in relation to one another, and the way contrast and change are allowed to remain visible. This project is therefore not simply a home inhabited by a gallerist, but a home in which the gallerist's way of seeing, composing, and creating relationships has been translated into space. The apartment is conceived as an evolving environment in which artworks, furniture, and traces of her everyday life can continually be added, rearranged, and reinterpreted. It is at once a place for living and a personal exhibition that is continuously curated through the life and sensibility of its occupant.
Photography: Mingu Kang
'A Residence Curated by The Logic of A Gallery'
This project began with a single question, 'how can the spatial logic of a gallery be implemented into the conventional framework of a typical apartment plan in South Korea?' Rather than simply creating a home filled with artworks, the design team's aim was to translate the gallerist's way of seeing, arranging, and establishing the relationships between objects into the organizing principles of the home itself.
The existing apartment followed a typical residential layout, with a clearly divided living room, kitchen, corridor, and bedrooms into separate distinct zones. For a gallerist living with large scale paintings and a variety of artworks, however, a wall is not merely a boundary between rooms but rather becomes a surface for display. In particular, the need to accommodate a large painting in the living room area called for an approach in which the artwork would not function as a decorative element placed among furniture, but rather as a central presence capable of defining the character of the entire space of the apartment.
To soften the rigid and segmented nature of the original floor plan, curved walls and forms were introduced throughout the apartment. These curves allow spaces to remain distinct without becoming completely separated, while naturally guiding both movement and sightlines from one area to another. The transition from the entrance to the corridor and the living room, and from the living room to the kitchen, is conceived not as a sequence of disconnected rooms, but as a gradual progression from one spatial scene to the next. This approach reflects the way galleries establish relationships between artworks while carefully orchestrating the viewer's movement and perception. Circulation within the home therefore operates not simply as a path of everyday movement, but as a form of curated circulation through which space and art are experienced continuously.
Rather than adopting neutrality of the conventional white cube, the atmosphere of the apartment was shaped to express more of the gallerist's distinct personal taste. The deliberate juxtaposition of contemporary modern design with Korean objects was part of this strategy. A modern lounge chair is placed alongside with a traditional Korean wooden cabinet, allowing pieces from different periods and cultural contexts to coexist within the same setting. Rather than being unified under a single stylistic language, each object retains its own identity while forming new relationships with those around it. Much like curating works within an exhibition, the intention was to create balance through difference.
Materials were likewise treated not merely as neutral backdrops for art, but as active expressions of the gallerist's artistic sensibility. Wood, red travertine marble, and metal were introduced as accents in overall space, while boldly patterned tiles give the bathroom a stronger visual identity. In the master bedroom, the existing yellow-toned marble with its pronounced pattern was intentionally preserved rather than removed; a vivid red carpet was added alongside it, allowing two strong colors and textures to confront one another while still achieving an unexpected sense of coherence. Rather than erasing the existing conditions and imposing a completely new order, the project embraces what was already present and introduces new element to harmonize through contrast.
Ultimately, the typology of the gallery is not reproduced here through literal devices such as white walls or track lighting. Instead, it is expressed through the way the home is organized around artworks, the way spaces are discovered through movement, the way furniture and materials are
curated in relation to one another, and the way contrast and change are allowed to remain visible. This project is therefore not simply a home inhabited by a gallerist, but a home in which the gallerist's way of seeing, composing, and creating relationships has been translated into space. The apartment is conceived as an evolving environment in which artworks, furniture, and traces of her everyday life can continually be added, rearranged, and reinterpreted. It is at once a place for living and a personal exhibition that is continuously curated through the life and sensibility of its occupant.
