Kengo Kuma designs a new residence in South Korea

 “When I visited Jeju Island for the first time, I was so much inspired by this dark, porous volcanic rock that wanted to translate its soft and round touch into architecture. As the result, the entire house emerged as a round black stone.” These are the words of Kengo Kuma to illustrate the work on the residence Jeju Ball in Korea.

From a distance the single villas look like stones: the same stone roof is the element characterising the units. “Our intention was for the light to come through the black pebbles. Light highlights the texture of the stone, and the ambiguous roof edge can connect the roof with the ground.” says Kengo Kuma.

The positioning of the stone on a metal mesh made it possible to minimize the thickness of the roof, emphasizing the perception of darkness and porosity that the landscape of Jeju arouses, sublimating the effect in the scale of the house.