Peanut Home Gaining Ground Among Young Koreans
A 27-duplexes home complex project in Seoul has started construction earlier this year. Under the motif of “Nature in the city,” the development features a so-called “peanut house” design and has close access to the newly built subway station. With the total land area of 8,112.4m2, this project will have 27 wood-frame homes built upon the concrete first floor. It will be completed in September this year.
The project is designed and managed by Mr. Hyun Wook Lee, a well-established architect who originated the idea of “peanut house” in 2011. According to Mr. Lee, the wooden house is believed to be superior to homes made of steel frames or concrete slabs as wood is much higher in both tensile and compression strength, withstanding better in the earthquake.
The market for the single-family house in Korea is still in high demand though the affordability continues to deteriorate. Many middle-class couples would opt to sell apartments and condos and switch to more affordable and spacious “peanut house” after they have kids. Another benefit of the peanut house is its low operation cost feature as it minimizes energy consumption through better insulation and optimized architectural design.