APAP OpenSchool | LOT-EK

Eight shipping containers are shifted and cut along a 45 degree angle and combined in a fishbone pattern generating a large arrow-like volume lifted three meters over the landscape. Two containers are angled upward and downward to reach ground and sky. Positioned along the river edge to activate the recreational space of the riverfront and to allow its users to be visitors, spectators and actors during the course of the public art program of APAP2010, OpenSchool is a shipping container structure hovering over Hakwoon park pedestrian walkway at the city level right at the drop to the river bank, marking the territory as a focal place of gathering, resting and viewing. The strong graphic treatment of the new structure of the APAP2010 OpenSchool, with its bright yellow and black structure, lettering and deck, makes it a landmark within the urban fabric of Anyang. LOT-EK designed the OpenSchool within the critical framework set up by Kyong Park - historic New York figure, founder of the Storefront for Art and Architecture and artistic director of Anyang Public Art Program 2010. The building is a testing ground for radical container assemblies with high sculptural potential: • the shearing of containers along unexpected angles • the bending of containers outside of their horizontal volume • the floating of containers in mid-air to defy their heavy mass Site Plan At ground level, the steel-plate footprint of the hovering shipping container structure becomes a public amphitheater taking advantage of the existing sloping topography. The amphitheater lower section offers a viewpoint on the landscape along the river edge. The upper section, reaching a higher level, engages the main open space below the OpenSchool structure, transforming it into a space for performances. The social space entices public gathering and community exchange. Elevation A shipping container, directly connected to the pedestrian path, is bent to invite access to the upper levels. At the second level, carved out of the hovering containers' interior space, the program includes one large, open, multi-purpose space that functions as a meeting/assembly room and exhibition space, as well as two studios for artists-in-residence. The two frontal walls, along the north-west axis and at the most dramatic overhang of the structure, are solid and pierced only by a series of peep-holes. Located at different heights to be accessible for kids and adults, the tubes frame different views within the surrounding landscape, focusing on natural and urban moments of its neighborhood. The containers’ short sides are entirely glazed allowing natural light, cross ventilation and views toward the park path below. At the very tip of the building, the 45 degree fishbone layout creates a split space with an optical mirroring effect. Main Level Plan A stairway, contained within one of the angled shipping container, directs to the top level. Here, a long decked area stretches over the river. Resembling a diving-board, the roof deck offers an amazing view from its suspended position while two long benches provide a space for social interaction. APAP OpenSchool was built as a partial prefabricated structure, with all containers modified off site. The raw modules were trucked to the site and craned to connect to the main steel frame. Once the assembly was fully erected, two separate crews worked simultaneously -- one on the building interiors, with another handling exterior and landscaping -- providing efficiency for significant time savings. The entire building was completed in less than 6 months.