About this place
A seven-storey corner church in Gimpo's new town: fractured concrete toward the apartments, open glass toward the park, and a cross carved out of the facade.
IDMM Architects, led by Heesoo Kwak, built this Presbyterian church in 2015 on a corner lot in Unyang-dong, a dense residential district of Gimpo, west of Seoul. The client asked for modest religious signs, so there is no rooftop cross; instead the cross is cut into the facade and lit from within at night.
The building is split in two. The side facing the apartment blocks is solid, faceted concrete that guards the congregation's privacy and the neighbours' views. The side facing the park is glass, letting passers-by see into the worship space. The two halves collide at the tip of the site, and that meeting point is the building's most striking view.
Inside, the main chapel rises through the second to fifth floors with bleacher-like seating, wrapped by a lobby, community room, two smaller chapels and offices. An external stair zigzags up the outside to a roof terrace used for both worship and neighbourhood gatherings. The name reflects the church's aim to be the nearest, most open place of worship for the people around it.
Architecture · Religious Building