Contemporary cities have achieved efficiency and convenience through high-density development and functionally segregated spatial planning; however, this process has also led to the fragmentation of living spaces and the weakening of everyday social i...
Contemporary cities have achieved efficiency and convenience through high-density development and functionally segregated spatial planning; however, this process has also led to the fragmentation of living spaces and the weakening of everyday social interactions. Within urban structures where commercial, residential, and public functions are clearly separated, traditional markets have gradually become fixed as spaces centered on sales activities, resulting in the decline of their role as everyday living environments for local residents. This situation prevents traditional markets from fully realizing their potential as neighborhood living hubs and calls for new spatial interpretations that respond to changing urban lifestyles.
This study aims to reinterpret traditional markets not merely as commercial facilities but as living spaces where residential, everyday, and public activities are integrated. To this end, the research examines the formation and transformation of traditional markets and analyzes the spatial and structural limitations they face in contemporary urban contexts. Through this process, it identifies that traditional markets historically functioned as neighborhood living hubs where daily consumption and social interaction were concentrated. Subsequently, the demographic and residential characteristics of Gwanak District were analyzed to derive the relationship between small-household-oriented lifestyles and neighborhood commercial spaces, thereby establishing the necessity for spatial programs that vertically integrate traditional markets and residential functions.
Gwanak Sinsa Market, located in a high-density residential area, is a neighborhood-based traditional market that maintains close proximity to surrounding housing. Nevertheless, its operation remains largely focused on commercial functions, leading to limitations in spatial utilization and patterns of use. To address these issues, this project proposes a spatial structure in which residential, commercial, and public programs are sequentially and vertically connected around the traditional market as a central core. The market is reorganized as a primary hub that supports everyday use and stay, while residential units for one- and two-person households are arranged above, enabling consumption, movement, and rest to occur within a compact living radius. In addition, public and community programs are integrated with the market to ensure continuous activation beyond specific time periods.
This spatial configuration reveals three key characteristics of residential mixed-use traditional markets. First, through proximity to housing and the overlap of daily circulation paths, the traditional market functions as a life-oriented space, facilitating repetitive and routine use by residents. Second, the vertical and three-dimensional integration of residential, commercial, and public programs generates structural complexity, overcoming functional segregation and enabling diverse spatial interactions. Third, by combining existing market identity with residential and community functions, the market reinforces place identity, allowing local memory and everyday experiences to accumulate over time.
In conclusion, this study presents an alternative spatial model that responds to changing urban residential structures and lifestyles by reinterpreting the living value of traditional markets and integrating them with residential programs. It demonstrates the potential to expand traditional markets beyond their role as historical commercial assets into contemporary mixed-use living hubs characterized by life-oriented use, structural complexity, and strengthened place identity, thereby providing foundational implications for future strategies in traditional market regeneration and residential mixed-use development.