A built structure—its walls, the cracks that embroider its surface, its peeling layers and its aged chassis slowly surrendering after years of defying gravity—has a lot more to say than a tale of dereliction and decay. These parcels of technical prowess and creativity, on a closer analysis, lay bare an entire timeline of their coexistence with humans, and a mutual evolution. As mod cons and the latest trends alter the semantics and standards of architecture, older structures are looked at with a lens of scrutiny; some lose utility and become shrines of the past, some are razed, and others mutate. Their formative vocabulary takes on a new form in a marriage with contemporary elements—a tryst that defines this Seoul bakery by South Korea-based architecture studio Sukchulmok.

Titled 8323. layers of space, the adaptive reuse project by Sukcholmuk transforms a 1980s building by adding a modern gesture to its skin and frame. Located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the preserved building is a detached house in brick, common in Korea, rendered unusable to a large extent with time. The architects take the existing shell—a blend of concrete and brick—as a reference point, and augment it with a reflective stainless steel facade design. "I saw the texture created by time as the biggest strength of the building," informs lead architect Park Hyunhee.

Headquartered in Seoul, Sukchulmok specialises in architecture, interior design and hospitality interiors that spotlight a play of materiality. The studio does so by defining its projects through stone stacking, iron welding and wood carving—concocting compositions with strong and inviting tactility. Their oeuvre, barring the new Seoul cafe design, encompasses a brick-contoured bakery, a PTFE tent photography studio and a group of furniture and lighting designs in wood and metal.

The building they recently took up the renovation of has lived through decades in multiple avatars: a house, a hardware store, an office, and most recently, a restaurant design. All through the house, one could observe the traces of expansion and repaired damages—each a vestige of how the previous users have moulded it to their preferred purpose. These marks rendered the abode unique and preserved by the architects; novel elements—both structural and superficial—are injected into the structure in aesthetic harmony with sections of the old building that have been added over the years.

The two-storey building, standing eight metres high, has quite a peculiar character. It was divided into three floors, one, a concrete structure and the remaining two, brick structures. The first impression of the building is conjectured to be a consequence of its ageing and/or technical problems. Its concrete railings were slightly tilted, some walls were damaged and the rainwater pipes were not functional. To complement these old and unstable limbs and express them in one distinct yet cohesive concept, a gesture was provided to connect a jagged building vertically using stainless steel. A 500-millimetre diameter column, connected vertically, is added as if organising the hospitality architecture visually while fulfilling the functional role of structural reinforcement or covering the rainwater pipes while harmonising with the previous texture.

The exterior cocoon, hence, morphs into a canvas for diverse hues—stainless steel, discoloured brick architecture and redwood are introduced as finishing layers to blend with previous traces. Bricks filled at different times on the second floor feature different brick patterns associated with each production period, giving the impression of the passage of time. "The finishing touches of the newly added stainless steel and redwood were expressed as concisely as possible. It is not to conflict with the rough texture," Hyunhee notes.

The interior design of the first and second floors is finished using red cedar louvres, commonly seen in living rooms in the ‘80s, and the existing concrete architecture is left exposed. The raw materiality of concrete and brick becomes a backdrop for bright spaces filled with lush green plants, revealing a pleasant contrast. “A rough texture was used, but it created as sophisticated a feeling as possible. This is to induce appropriate harmony and avoid a chaotic atmosphere,” explains Hyunhee.

The colour palette of the exteriors trickles into the interiors, with a similar set of materials employed for both. While a concrete bar runs across the ground floor, delineating the kitchen and seating space, a patio and more indoor seating are provided upstairs, accessible through an outdoor staircase hidden from the street using a concrete wall and polycarbonate panels. One finds an elusive glimpse of the giant stainless steel columns on the building facade in the rounded metal furniture design interspersed in the internal spaces. The warmth of the space, achieved primarily through strategic use of material, is enhanced further by the subtle strip lights running parallel to the ground on the ceiling.

The space, which has transformed continuously from its original being through time, evolves once more to become a more ‘current’ version of itself. 8323. layers of space now welcomes visitors to relish baked goods and roasted coffee, offering a unique culinary experience in a setting where harmony—surprisingly—prevails in a potpourri of eras.