Café Teri / NAMELESS Architecture

Below the eastern foot of Gyeryongsan Mountain in Daejeon, South Korea, Nameless Architecture has designed and built Café Teri. The structure is composed of two separate buildings housing a café and a bakery, while an intermediate courtyard completes the U-shaped ensemble. The building is made of rough concrete bricks and curved façades that emphasize the continuity of the project and the fluid local topography.

The site is located below the eastern foot of Gyeryongsan Mountain in Daejeon, South Korea. Adjacent to the site where the mountains and plains meet, the entrance to the old trail is located. The new building starts from the topography of the trail from the village to the mountain. In this place, two buildings are arranged to face each other around the central courtyard. The two buildings are slightly shifted apart and the walls of the building flow down into the yard. The artificial valley, where the distinction between the wall and the floor is blurred, creates a dynamic flow towards the forest.

The fluid wall is continuous in the yard and in the interior space, connecting the inside and outside scenery through a stepped space. The uplifted terrain in the backyard forms a static spatiality. The inside and outside of the building become a place for people who come and go through the forest to rest and enjoy food.

The materiality of the architecture sees a homogenous use of concrete in an eclectic palette. While the outer walls are clad in concrete brick, the interior walls feature exposed concrete, and floor in polished concrete. The specific use of concrete to construct the architectural topography was emphasised keeping in mind a sense of continuity of the flowing nature of the space.

• Project team: Unchung Na, Sorae Yoo, Taekgyu Kang, Changsoo Lee
• Location: Daejeon, South Korea
• Site area: 1673 sqm
• Gross floor area: 900 sqm