September_1970 — Page 21

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Typical floor plan

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A Y-SHAPE, perhaps more acurately described as a triangular-shape with concave sides, was chosen by the American architect for the new Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Korea.

A tower of such shape is intrinsi- cally a stable form and obviates the need for extensive shear walls or using transverse beams to counteract lateral

stresses.

But there were also aesthetic reasons for the choice. The site was occupied, until three years ago, by a previous Chosun Hotel. Its grounds had been well maintained and included an ancient pagoda which it was considered desirable to preserve as a focal point of the new development.

A second obvious focal point was the outdoor heated swimming pool called for in the client's requirements, and a third expressed itself in an arti- culation of the mass of the single largest function in the hotel the main ballroom and its ancillary faci- lities.

These three attractions were the protagonists in the evolution of the Y- shaped bedroom tower. Each of the three faces of the tower offers a dif- ferent view conveying a particular mood or atmosphere. The side over- looking the traditional pagoda con- trasts with the contemporary aura of the side which envelopes the swimming pool, and as a sobering counterpoint the third side offers a view of an archi- tectural form expressing its function.

The major design problem was to present a good example of modern architecture which would not be strik- ingly contradictory to its ancient orien-

tal surroundings. This has been accom- North face of the Chosun overlooking the pagoda

Far East BUILDER, September 1970

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