Yangsan Golf Club

Siting: Set amidst the mountains near Pusan, South Korea, this 50,000 square foot structure creates a strong image for the club’s membership while still sitting comfortably within the landscape

Regional Influences: This project rejects the typical approach to the design of a golf clubhouse - one where traditional forms and rich materials rooms are used to express power, money, and privilege. Instead, it utilizes a contemporary language that is informed by regional sensibilities and local materials. Inspired by ancient fortresses located nearby, the building is composed of a number of limestone volumes that firmly anchor the building to the earth. These volumes are juxtaposed with several upwardly tilting roofs clad in lead-coated copper. Holding all of these elements together is a spine that runs the length of the building.

Dynamic Spaces, Views, and Light: Large expanses of glass allow each of the public interior spaces to have sweeping views over the golf course and the mountains beyond. The building’s open plan and interior layout create unexpected views across space that encourage a sense of community among the club’s members. Generous use of skylights creates dramatic lighting effects throughout the interior.

Tea Time: Each of the three nine-hole segments on the golf course contains a “tea house,” a small pavilion offering restrooms and a café. The abstract form and flat roofs of these structures suggest small tables floating among the hills, lakes, and sand pits of the golf course. Their overhanging roofs create shaded outdoor rooms and frame views of the surrounding topography.