SPACE-Embracing the Plaza, Spreading Low: Yeoncheon Elementary School

SPACE February 2026 (No. 699)

Yeoncheon

Yeoncheon-gun is located at the northernmost part of Gyeonggi-do. It is a remote place, relatively inaccessible from the metropolitan area. Yet this distance has preserved Yeoncheon-gun’s ecological environment, resulting in a beautiful and unique landscape. Yeoncheon Elementary School, located at Yeoncheon-eup, is a public school with a history of over 110 years. For a long time, it maintained the appearance of typical school architecture, built according to standardised plans of the past. Classrooms were arranged in a single linear corridor, forming a unidirectional spatial structure, while the openness of the playground gave a strong impression. With the student population steadily declining to around 210, and with the aging of the building, ʻSpace Innovation Reconstruction of Yeoncheon Elementary School’ project was approved, involving the demolition and rebuilding of all existing classroom buildings except the multipurpose hall, residence building, and garage.

Vision

The preliminary planning of the design competition suggested the school should have a flexible and open space with a rooftop garden, be a low-rise school, and embody the concept of a ‘UNESCO school’. These keywords naturally resonated with our previous works and offered an opportunity to refine and extend ideas that had previously remained incomplete. For Gonghang High School (2019), we hoped the atrium could accommodate more permanent, everyday programmes. At Singil Middle School (2021), we were unable to realise a sufficiently open central space where many students could gather. These experiences led us to focus more deliberately on the concept of an indoor plaza for Yeoncheon Elementary School.

The UNESCO School

When designing schools, we ask ourselves what...

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Architect

2JIP Architects (Lee Hyunwoo)

Design team

Kim Taegyu, Son Sooman

Location

Yeoncheon-ro 228, Yeoncheon-eup, Yeoncheon-gun, G

Programme

elementary school

Site area

17,959m²

Building area

4,831.97m²

Gross floor area

6,532.91m²

Building scope

B1, 2F

Parking

Height

14.54m

Building to land ratio

26.9%

Floor area ratio

35.5%

Structure

RC, wooden structure

Exterior finishing

clay brick

Interior finishing

medium-duty vinyl sheet flooring, semi-noncombust

Structural engineer

YIGUN Structural Engineering Group, HWAN Engineer

Mechanical and electrical engineer

SUYANG ENGINEERING

Construction

Dohye Total Construction

Design period

Mar. 2022 – Mar. 2023

Construction period

May 2023 – Feb. 2025

Cost

22.5 billion KRW

Client

Yeoncheon Office of Education

Civil design

NAWOOGEO CONSULTANTS

Landscape architect

Shinlim Landscape Architecture

Lee Hyunwoo

Lee Hyunwoo graduated from the Department of Architecture and its graduate program at Sungkyunkwan University and gained professional experience at SPACE Group. Since 2013, he has been running 2JIP Architects. Through a wide range of public projects, his work focuses on dismantling and reconfiguring conventional spatial typologies, as well as proposing and realising new spatial and structural types. He seeks the spatial and physical construction of architecture by drawing out sensibilities that are at once universal and intimate. His major works include Konghang High School (2019), Singil Middle School (2021), and Gwangtan Library (2022). He has received numerous awards, including the Korean Architecture Award, the KIA Award, the Seoul Architecture Award, the Korea Green Building Award, and the Public Architecture Awards of Korea. He currently serves as a Seoul Public Architect and as a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s Advisory Committee on Educational Facilities Policy.