The Ananti Club Seoul, Mount Yumyeong Building, Ritz Carlton Korea, Photos

The Ananti Club, Seoul

South Korea Country Club Building – design by Ken Min Architects

27 May 2011

The Ananti Club

Mt. Yumyeong, near Seoul, South Korea

Design: Ken Min Architects

The Ananti Club Building in Seoul

The Ritz Carlton Country Club, which used to boast a classical European style clubhouse, decided to change its name to the Ananti Club Seoul, taking up the challenge of completely rebuilding and redeveloping its courses and clubhouse in order to reflect the city’s latest lifestyles. This effort has created a place of leisure worth exploring.

photos : Song Jae Young

Located in the folds of Mt. Yumyeong, just a 30-minute drive away from Seoul, Korea, the Ananti Club Seoul is surrounded by a thick pine forest rarely seen around Seoul. The club offers an undiluted enjoyment of a hundred-year old virgin forest and the mesmerizing tranquility of undulating mountain ridges. The new clubhouse is focused on connecting the natural elements of various geographic forms(ponds, valleys, flat areas, steep slopes) and the various levels of programs of a golf clubhouse, with the least disruption to the surrounding ecology.

In order to minimize the presence of an imposing 8,200㎡ of the building above ground and save energy cost in heating and cooling by 30%, about 92% of the building area was embedded into the earth, without overshadowing the thick forest and the beautiful ecology of the surrounding area and improving the sustainability of the building. The architectural objects, with different functions and identities, melt into nature. In the process of reinterpreting and rearranging the functions, the height difference in site of 28.8m was split into five different levels that engage from the surrounding earth. The putting greens and starting area/tee house are located at GL 355m; the swimming pool and pool side terrace restaurant at GL 358m; the main entrance and the parking area at GL 366m; a pond and a multi-purpose banquet room at GL 373m; and finally, a viewpoint deck at GL 378m was inserted into a steep slope, connecting the site in an organic fashion.

photos : Song Jae Young

The clubhouse was focused on providing views of the natural forest, rather than of the golf course, emphasizing its identity as a place of leisure and repose. This is in correspondence with the fact that the Ananti Club Seoul provides more than a golf course and a clubhouse; it also provides many kinds of sports and leisure programs for the family. It offers the guest the chance to partake in such activities as swimming, tennis, tracking, ice skating, cross country skiing, and then top it all off with a nice, relaxing sauna and bathing. With the full comprehension and reinterpretation of the complex programs of the space where various leisure activities take place and more than 200 employees conduct their work, new applications and possibilities were attempted and meaningful spaces were created to accommodate the programs.

Through the juxtaposition of the main entrance building and the tower, a kind of a lighthouse viewable from all parts of the site, a natural and moderate effect was achieved. Furthermore, rather than providing a panoramic view, the location and height of the windows were intentionally calculated to provide specific views of the landscape. The mass was designed so that the external form of the space is directly related to the internal spatiality. This provides various opportunities for the appreciation of different views and spaces.

photo : Emerson Pacific Group

The materials were chosen in consideration of the characteristics and functions of each mass, distinguishing what should be seen and not. To accentuate the curves of the mass, yet hide it in the ground, exposed concrete was used. At the main entrance, titanium zinc panels were used, and color-changing panels were used for the tower to reflect the different time of the day.

Our intention was to create a clubhouse with a greater allure than its convenient location. We wanted it to be where “life happens.” We hope memorable events will take place in the space while visitors enjoy exciting leisure activities, and that architecture will aid and amplify their rich experience.

photos : Kim Sung Jin

The Ananti Club Seoul – Building Information

Project Name : The Ananti Club, Seoul
Architect : Ken Sungjin Min, AIA
Project Design Team : Hak Sik Son(FAIA), Seung June Lee, Soek Young Jang, Hyun Soo Han, Pyung Jae Cho, Jae Yoon Cha, Kyung Min Moon, James Shin, Norman Roh, Jae Geun Ryu, Tae Woo Kang, Yun Mi Son, Hee Geun Lee(CG), Janek Bielski, Simon Sang Hun Park, Hoon Yu
Client : Emerson Pacific Group
Location : Bangil-ri 90-2, Sorak-myun, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Region Area : Arrangement Management Area
Classification : Renovation
Use : Sports Facilities (Golf Clubhouse, Tennis Court & Restaurants)
Site Area : 14,694.15 sqm
Bldg. Area : 4,933.50 sqm
Gross Floor Area : 10,507.31 sqm
Bldg. Coverage Ratio : 11.79 %
Gross Floor Ratio : 32.77%
Bldg. Scale : Two stories below ground, three stories above ground
Parking : 270 cars
Max Height : 17 m
Structure : R.C
Equipment : EHP
Construction Design : Mirae ISE
Landscape Design : Ken Min Architects
Installation (machinery) : Tae Lim ENC
Installation (electricity) : Bow Technology & Consultant