London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 14, 2025

This Slender Home in Seoul Has One Room on Each of Its Four Levels

This Slender Home in Seoul Has One Room on Each of Its Four Levels

Architect TaeByoung Yim designs a 570-square-foot home with private space for studying and room to entertain.

Clad in black-painted stucco, this 570-square-foot house in Seoul, South Korea, is compact yet flexible. Architect TaeByoung Yim, of Mundoehoje and Studio Bigmimi, designed the four-level residence for JaeHoon Han in the district of Haebangchon, at the foot of Namsan Mountain. "It’s a quiet neighborhood where small houses and commercial buildings are closely gathered," Yim says.



Architect TaeByoung Yim designed a compact residence in Seoul, Korea, with designated space for studying and entertaining.

According to the architect, Han, an adjunct professor and retired CFO, sought to build a second home in Haebangchon as a retreat from his busy life in Gangnam, where he resides full-time with his wife and two daughters. "He needed a place where he could focus on his writing and research, but he also wanted an elegant house, where friends and family would be able to visit." Yim says. "He was drawn to this location because it provides easy access to anywhere in Seoul."



The exterior of the tall and narrow home is sided with black-painted stucco.



Visitors ascend a concrete staircase and pass through a metal gate to enter the home. The materiality lends the home cool texture and a sleek aesthetic.

The lot previously held a dilapidated single-story house clad with wood. "Originally, the client intended to remodel the wood house and make no major changes to its frame," Yim says. "However, the old house was empty for a long time, and there were structural issues." Han and Yim opted to tear down the old home and imagine a new design that would accommodate Han’s desire for a quiet space to study and a sophisticated place to entertain.



An open-plan kitchen/dining area showcases black granite flooring, a concrete ceiling, and wood paneling on one of the walls.



A glass section reveals stones outside, connecting the home to nature.

The lot is small and narrow, so Yim organized the rooms vertically, creating boundaries between the public and private areas. "It was impossible to arrange the necessary functions horizontally," Yim says. "I decided to lay out one program or function on each floor."



The office on the second level is outfitted with a built-in desk and bookcase that spans the length of the walls.

Yim arranged the kitchen and the dining room on the first level. The study/office is on the second level, the third level holds the living room, and the bedroom is located in the attic.

"One of the main features of the first floor is that people can enter with their shoes on, because the floor is black granite," he says. "Generally, in Korean culture, you take your shoes off when you enter the house."

The second and third levels have oak floors, and the attic is outfitted with tatami, a type of straw mat flooring used in traditional Japanese-style rooms. "The wood is warm and soft, and tatami is [even] softer to the touch," Yim says. "We valued the floors as the most important interior finishing materials and assigned different textures so that the feeling gradually softens as you move from public to private space."



A loft-like sleeping area on the fourth level lies just above the living room, which is located on the third level. Glass doors open to terraces on both floors and flood the rooms with natural light.



The loft-style sleeping area is finished with tatami flooring.

A bright-white cantilevered staircase crafted with finger joint–style ten-millimeter steel plates links the third and fourth levels. "We wanted the material to be as minimal and light as it could be," says Yim. The first, second, and third levels are joined by an oak staircase.



A white-painted steel-plate staircase leads from the third floor to the attic level.



A wall on the second level features a built-in bookcase with a reading nook.

Yim’s design wastes no space, and focuses on adaptability. "The first floor of this house is designed for the owner to use how he wants," the architect says. "It can be closed off or left more open, connecting the house to the street, the neighborhood, and the city. There’s lots of potential to change the use, depending on lifestyle. The first floor can be used as a private dining restaurant or a shared kitchen space, while the rest of the house can be rented out. The final design really reflects the taste and the lifestyle of the client, who has a very flexible character."



Tiny Second Home in Urban elevation drawing



The narrow home slots easily into its urban context, while making a striking design statement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
×