The Polyhedron-Shaped Blooming House in Seoul

It is not often that we come across residences that are shaped like irregular polyhedrons. And, it is even rarer when architects claim that such a complex shape was adopted to satisfy the client’s simple requirement of ‘living in nature’. Well, the above pictured ‘Blooming House’ (or Hwa Hun in Korean) by Seoul-based firm Iroje Khm Architects, upholds both of the aforementioned factors, and it does so with a distinctive aplomb. The end result is a 4,750 sq ft (or 441 sq m) house with a dramatic profile and a myriad terrace gardens – ranging from forecourt garden, inner court garden, stair garden to water fall garden, roof garden and other vertical gardens.

These gardens with variant green plants and fruit trees, fulfill just one part of the ‘living in nature’ credential. The other architectural consideration the brings the inhabitants of the Blooming House close to nature equates to the interesting location of the residence. To that end, the dwelling is situated in Seoul, with its elevation being proximate to the famous “Bukhansan” urban mountain on the northern edge of the city. This neighborhood already boasts of greenery with the rolling topography of bucolic trees.

As the architects made it clear in a succinct manner –

We designed nature–scape architecture “architectural hill”, to harmonize with context of surrounding mountain and to satisfy the owner’s requirement “living in nature”. To maximize the area of green garden, all the exterior spaces of this house are covered with green plants.