HAHOUSE is an Ode to Steel and Concrete
Set in Seoul’s bustling Itaewon, lifestyle store and creative space HAHOUSE was designed by local interior design studio niceworkshop. and incorporates the minimal design language of the studio’s steel furniture series. Co-founder Hyunseog Oh tells us more about the project
Design Anthology: How did you first meet the client?
Hyunseog Oh: The client contacted me after he came across our Bolt series and some of our other works. We then met to discuss the design of his new store and of the furniture for the space.
What was the brief to you for the project?
HAHOUSE is a lifestyle store and cultural space that displays and sells fashion and craft items and furniture. The goal of the project was to create a space that would emphasise the exhibited pieces while incorporating niceworkshop.’s design language.
Tell us about the material choices for the space.
After the existing space was demolished, two concrete walls were left. I preserved those and juxtaposed them with stainless steel, which is the material I understand best.
Can you tell us about some of the custom pieces?
Most of the store’s pieces, such as the sliding door, the furniture, the handles and the lighting, were custom-made. The majority of the hardware was manufactured rather than being ready-made. I think those elements come together to create a space that feels fully designed.
Do you have a favourite element or design detail in the architecture or interiors?
My favourite element in the space is niceworkshop.’s Affordance series. The name of the series refers to the inducing of human behaviour: the intrinsic and external properties of a specific object trigger certain actions in users, which shows a possible linkage between use, function and action.
One of the features I’m most excited about is the sliding door. Unlike common sliding doors, its bearings were exposed and used as objects that contribute both to the door’s functional and aesthetic aspects.
Images / Jinseob Kim
