Classic construction style reinterpreted

The spectacular clubhouse for the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club in South Korea was just the start. Six more extraordinary buildings followed:

  • the Learning Centre
  • the Recreation Centre
  • the Grand Hall underground foyer and restaurant
  • the three Condo A apartment buildings

We were responsible for planning all of the timber construction of all buildings, as well as production of the timber components and erection of the buildings themselves. The idea and concept for the additional buildings came from Shigeru Ban Architects. The Korean architect Kyeong Sik Yoon designed the clubhouse in collaboration with Tokyo-based Shigeru Ban Architects.

Overall view of all timber constructions

Between 2008 and 2018, we planned and constructed a total of seven extraordinary buildings at the Haesley Nine Bridges Resort in South Korea:

  • Clubhouse with restaurant, bar, wellness and spa area, plus a separate meeting pavilion
  • Learning Centre
  • Recreation Centre
  • underground Grand Hall
  • three Condo A apartment buildings

All the buildings are characterised by their extraordinary design features, such as their Free Form timber support structures.

General plan of the wooden buildings of Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Resort

Grand Hall

The Grand Hall, an underground space that has a strong emotional impact on visitors, boasts an impressive support structure made of 22 wooden columns. The glass roof of the Grand Hall provides an unobstructed view of the lake above, where 22 large planters containing real trees stand in a 10 cm deep pool of water. The glass roof of the Grand Hall and the lake’s water place a heavy load on the timber support structure underneath. They were the main factors behind the design of the Free Form cross-section and they define the statics of the timber support structure.

Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club, view inside the hall in the Learning Centre, with escalator in the background

Recreation & Learning Centre

Both buildings – the Recreation Centre and Learning Centre – were given overhanging and sloped timber roof constructions that sit on a pure steel or reinforced concrete structure. The unusual shape gives both roofs a unique character. As a result of the raised entrance at the back of the building and the tapered roof edges, the roof of the three-storey Recreation Centre forms an oval-shaped wave with a surface area of 580 m2. The roof of the Learning Centre is also oval-shaped. The building’s structure is responsible for this curved roof, which covers almost 620 m2.

Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club, full exterior shot of the Recreation Centre at night, with illuminated windows and underside of the roof

Condo A apartment buildings

Six Free Form double dormers and the many glass frontages define the look of the Condo A apartment buildings. The connections between the timber construction and the glass frontages proved to be a particularly challenging element of the planning. Our timber construction planning team drew up the detailed pre-assembly and erection plans, and generated the production data based on a 3D implementation model. The floor and ceiling elements for the three buildings were prefabricated at our factory at Erlenhof, including the assembly, cut-outs and surface treatment. Our eight-person team on site at the golf club processed and assembled the huge number of elements in the Condo A apartment buildings.

Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club, view inside a suite with sofa in the Timber House, Condo A

The clubhouse with the treetop canopy

For our first commission at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Resort in Yeoju-Gun in South Korea, we planned and constructed a clubhouse with a restaurant, bar and wellness and spa area. The idea and concept for the unique building came from Korean architect Kyeong Sik Yoon and Tokyo-based Shigeru Ban Architects. The meeting pavilion by the water also incorporates the architecture of the clubhouse.

View of the two-storey hall of the golf club. The wooden supporting structure dominates the room while the vast golf course can be seen through the huge window in the background.

Find out more about the clubhouse with the treetop canopy

For the media