A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a high school in Gangnam. It was a high school densely surrounded by apartment buildings, and several reconstruction banners were hung on the surrounding apartments. Looking at the aging school, which was no different from my time, I wondered why no one talks about the school space where children study, when people discuss rebuilding their surrounding homes after just twenty or thirty years.

Afterwards, as an architect for the Jeju School Space Innovation Project, I was in charge of Jeju Donggwang Elementary School and proceeded with the design of a book playground. In order to create a school better than home and a school where children want to stay, I conducted numerous workshops with teachers and children, who are the primary users of the school, and planned a fun school library that captures the stories of Jeju and can only be experienced in Jeju.

The subject space is located on the second floor of the existing administration building and is a multi-purpose space where children can read books, hold performances, and play. It is characterized by a design that brings the atmosphere of a Jeju village into the school's second-floor interior. The space is largely divided into the Al-dongne and Ut-dongne areas, and elements that constitute a village, such as Pongnang-al (which serves as a village hub) and Olle-gil (pathways), are arranged to allow children to approach Jeju villages—which are becoming increasingly difficult to experience in daily life—in a friendly manner, with phrases like, "See you in Ut-dongne today," or "Let's meet at Pongnang-al later!"

Location: Samdo 2-dong, Jeju City

Size: 2 stories / 400.00 m² (Remodeled)

Purpose: Library

Structure: Reinforced concrete, steel frame, masonry

Design: A-Route Architects (Lee Chang-kyu, Kang Jeong-yun, Yang Da-eun)

Supervision: A-Route Architects (Lee Chang-kyu, Kang Jeong-yun)

Photo: Lee Sang-hoon

Period: 2019~2020