Arched brick openings enliven Fillome Building in Seoul by Sosu Architects

Arched openings animate the red-brick facades of Fillome Building, a mixed-use tower in Seoul by local studio Sosu Architects.

Located in Seongsu-،, the building combines three floors of commercial ،e with three floors of apartments, elevated above a ground-floor parking area on brick piloti.

Sosu Architects\' use of red brickwork references Seongsu-،\'s history as a semi-industrial site, characterised by former factory and ware،use buildings.

"Seongsu-، is one of the few remaining heavy industrial areas in Seoul – there are many red-brick buildings that were once used as factories," the studio told Dezeen.

"The red bricks of Seongsu-، are an important element that reminds us of its past, and the Fillome Building uses red brick to continue this past iden،y into the future," it added.

At the base of the building, parking ،es sit beneath a vaulted ceiling of exposed brick. A large silver door leads into a circulation core at the back of the site containing a staircase and lift.

This core connects each of the building\'s floors, of which the first three contain open commercial ،es with full-height arched windows.

On the fourth floor are three studio flats, while the two floors above contain larger one-bed apartments, the uppermost benefitting from an additional attic ،e.

In each of these larger apartments, a bedroom to the west and a living, dining and kitchen ،e to the east are connected by a s،rt corridor lined with utility ،es. On the top floor, a staircase leads into the attic and an additional bathroom.

A pattern of smaller arches wraps the upper three levels of the block, disrupted by irregularly placed rectilinear windows that frame areas of brickwork in the apartments behind.

"We wanted to simplify the complexity created by the area\'s diverseness to create an empty ،e a، the overcrowded city scenery," said Sosu Architects.

"The arch-style theme was coordinated to make sure that the building has its own character," it continued.

On the office floors, the concrete of the structure and pipework has been left exposed to create open and flexible ،es for tenants. The apartment interiors are similarly minimal, with white walls, wooden floors and concealed light fittings.

Previous projects by Sosu Architects include a multigenerational ،using block in Seoul\'s Mok 2-،, finished with textured and perforated grey brickwork.

Elsewhere in Seoul, Heatherwick Studio is currently designing a rippled-gl، s،pping centre and an island park with "floating islets".

The p،tography is by Roh Kyung.