• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.72-85
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• 2009

This study attempts to examine the principles of landscape composition for a 'Suhwon(書院)' and the meaning and value of its traditional landscape architecture, in order to apply the results to the design of modern landscape architecture. A 'Suhwon' is a vital space containing the form and meaning of human activity. This study analyzes the characteristics of landscape composition in the construction of the Namgea Suhwon, located in Hamyang, by examining the form and meaning of its area and composition. The Namgea Suhwon was constructed with a suitable configuration and harmony in a good location, neither field nor mountain, and which encompasses transcendence and a return after passage through a period of birth and abundance. Its appearance means 'life existence and hidden death(生居死幽)'. Its spatial system is a reflection of the idea of Samshinoje(三神五帝: The three abilities of Providence and its five subjects) connected with Ilsangje -Samshin -Ohje. It was built based on the idea of Biryebudong(非禮不動) meaning that one should follow only good decorum and avoid discourtesy, complying with "the frame of decorum" developed by the family rites of Chu Hsi. The environmental design of the Namgea Suhwon was interrupted by the material confrontation between mountains and water and a binary code system, such as front to rear, length to breadth, and movement to stillness. The design did not adhere to stiff axes, but pursued the harmonic principles of asymmetric balance in the building and the yard, which are very naturalistic. The name 'Namgea Suhwon' is closely related with the view of placement(置) and harmony(和), which are unified with the function and meaning formed by connecting Sung Confucianism with the Pungsu-Sasinsa structure in the layout of the grounds. When examining the D/H ratio of the building and yard, it can be seen that the spaces of Ganghak, Yusang and Jehyang were built appropriately, according to the natural characteristics of each space, such as a sense of openness, enclosure, tension, relief, enhancement, and hierarchical order. The spaces also reflect human scale concepts that take advantage of auditory features. The transition process after the construction of 'Namgea Suhwon' reveals the intentions of the builder to create an ecological landscape composition based on Placement and Harmony. Placement embodies' a purposeful space in which nature and the building are connected naturally, 'incomplete open space pursuing completion', and 'potential beauty in which tension and relaxation are repeated'. Harmony embodies 'order and continuity having a sense of unity with the natural environment' and the 'sharing of daily life and memory'. 'Namgea Suhwon' contains many ideas for landscape planning, land use and the design of a campus environment.