Millac The Market, LJL Architects (Seungjin Lee), 2K1 Architecture (Joohyoung Lee)

Project name: Millac The Market / Company name: LJL Architects – 2K1 Architecture / Completion Year: 2022 / Other participants: (collaborators, consultants, etc) Design PM: E10 company / Structural Engineering: ILU Structural Engineers / Mechanical Engineering: Jin Heung ENG / Electrical Engineering: Jin Heung ENG / Photo credits: Yoon, Joonhwan
Website: www.ljlarchitects.com – www.2k1arc.com
e-mail (LJL Architects): archiche@naver.com
e-mail (2K1 Architecture): 2k1arc@naver.com

The site is located in a landfill area on the east side of Gwangalli Beach, and it has undergone urbanization since the start of the reclamation project in the 1980s.
The site, which remained undeveloped as an empty lot from the time of its landfilling until the design phase in 2019, was surrounded by high-rise buildings and looked like a giant community in the middle of the city. The southern part of the site was adjacent to the sea, offering the closest view of the Gwangan Bridge, making it a natural location for high-rise development and pre-sale. Nevertheless, the belief of the project owners in the potential to realize other spatial values through low-rise horizontal landmarks and publicness was a crucial focus of this project.
Unlike other coastal commercial facilities that dominate the sea view with their massive size, this project focused on valuing empty space and a design without design, creating a striking contrast. The low-rise masses, which were formed at a height that does not obscure the sea view from nearby residential areas, create a stark contrast to the high-rise buildings and present a unique urban landscape. Memories of the past fish market and street vendors near the site have been incorporated into the market’s program, and the space has been reconfigured to capture the local culture, people’s actions, and behaviors.
The circular shape of the warehouse was an appropriate motif to create empty space while forming the urban context of the Busan Port waterfront. The roof of the warehouse was segmented into three parts to avoid giving a visually overwhelming impression to pedestrians strolling along the beach, and the simple and compact mass of the building allowed the relationship between the coastline and the sea to be expressed.
The southern hall serves as a transitional space connecting the gap between the city and the sea. It was designed as a complex space that can accommodate various cultures and events, including visual connections to the sea through the grand stair, curtain wall, and shared spaces, as well as spaces for communication, relaxation, and recreation. The architects used red brick as a material that fits the simple form of the warehouse and reveals its properties. The long facade facing the downtown pedestrian environment on the west side was planned with a dense rhythm of openings, creating another urban landscape. The composition and proportion of materials, as well as the detailed design elements of the South Sun Warehouse, a modern cultural heritage site in Busan, and the facade of the former Baekje Hospital, served as design motifs.