Sook Kim undertook an architectural student exchange from Seoul to the Queensland University of Technology – and ended up staying.

Whilst studying design and architecture in her native country, Seoul, Kim Sook undertook a student exchange program at the Queensland University of Technology. The designer had not expected to spend more than a year in Australia, but was captivated by the relaxed Australian lifestyle – and the recipient of a design award and a job offer from BSPN – she elected to stay. Sook now holds the position of co-director at award-winning Noosa-based architecture studio Teeland Architects, bringing her signature design approach to the studio’s varied projects.

“I believe that design has to work on a practical level as well as achieving an aesthetic beauty,” Sook says. “For example in a home, the kitchen, bathroom and laundry are important. If these spaces are well designed, then it can be such a pleasure to spend time in these spaces. The daily ritual of bathing and preparing food can become a wonderful experience.” Sook brings these truisms to her work, infusing projects with both a strategic approach and tactility that marks each Teeland Architects project as uniquely bespoke. It helps, that her extraordinary skill in three-dimensional visualisation brings these projects to life at a pre-construction stage, helping clients to “see exactly what their spaces and materials are going to feel like.”

A case in point is Sook’s current project, Sunshine House which sits on a spectacular site, overlooking coastal sand dunes, all the way out to the ocean. “When you live here on the coast, you realise that beach houses have to be able to endure extreme sun, wind and salt spray,” she says. “I am enjoying working with the owners on a robust palette of materials that cannot only withstand being next to the ocean, but will also age beautifully with time.” The house is geometrically intricate, its fluid forms and winding staircase bringing dimensional dynamism to the project.

Sook also brings practical life lessons to her work. “As a mother of two young children, I have a better appreciation of designing for a family,” she says. “Many of our clients have young children, so I am enjoying designing spaces that are practical and easy for a young active family.”

The designer brings an intimate understanding of the local, subtropical climate, enabling the team to design truly appropriate houses that leverage the extraordinary natural landscape and lifestyle of the Sunshine Coast.

Teeland Architects
teeland.com.au

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