Infectious Disease Response Hub
Adaptive control hub at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center — unifying medical staff, administrators, and the public under a polycarbonate grid structure designed for epidemic response.
Outcome. Designed a 3-floor infectious disease response hub on the site of Gangnam-gu Public Health Center — integrating triage, inter-agency collaboration offices, and public-facing spaces within a polycarbonate-clad grid structure that reflects Seoul’s urban fabric.
Role: Team of 3 · Dates: Fall 2022 · Context: Interior Architecture Studio · Tools: Rhino, AutoCAD
Problem
Korea’s infectious disease response system operates top-down — information flows slowly, field workers lack communication channels, and medical, administrative, and public roles stay siloed. When an epidemic escalates, that isolation becomes a liability.
The question: what does a building look like when its architecture is the coordination mechanism?
Site & Concept
Site: Gangnam-gu Public Health Center, Seoul — chosen for its existing role in public health infrastructure and its position within the dense urban grid of southern Seoul.
Concept: 다름의 단합 — 결구 (Unity in Difference: The Joint)
The building doesn’t merge its users — it creates the conditions for connection. Medical staff, public health administrators, and the general public each have distinct spatial territories and circulation paths. The hub is the point of articulation between them.
User Analysis
Three distinct groups — medical staff (의료진), public health administrators (행정직원), and central response staff (중앙대책부 직원) — were mapped against spatial needs and workflow. Frequency diagrams show how each group moves through the building differently, and where their paths must intersect.
Space Design & Structure
A six-step process moved from site reading to structural resolution. The exploded axonometric shows the core material logic: a metal frame grid carries polycarbonate panels at varying opacity levels — fully open at public-facing zones, progressively screened toward sensitive medical areas. The building communicates its program through its skin.
Spatial allocation was calibrated using a grid heatmap — matching room dimensions to actual gathering patterns derived from user analysis (1–24 people / 25–60 people).
Space Flow & Material
The three user groups each enter from different points and follow distinct circulation paths. The flow diagram maps where they overlap, where they separate, and where the building forces encounter.
Plans & Facade
