This coastal cafe in the South Korean city of Gijang comprises a series of enormous concrete volumes that dwarf neighbouring houses, and are stacked and rotated to optimise views of the East China Sea.

The Waveon cafe perches high on a hilltop overlooking the rocky shoreline of the area north of South Korea's second largest city, Busan.

Seoul studio IDMM Architects was asked to develop the 500-square-metre building to make the most of the spectacular views.

"Depending on where and how we see the beach, the sea shows diverse views for us," said the architects, referring to the varying vistas available from the rocky headland.
"Accordingly, the significant matter of this project is how we can grasp and deal with the relationship between natural scenery and architecture."
A need to accommodate dining areas with different aspects prompted the arrangement of the cafe as a stack of elongated and angular volumes with large openings integrated into the facades.

Circulation is positioned in a void at the centre of the building to ensure the spaces along the edges remain open and able to look out through full-height glazing.

The central staircase also incorporates stepped wooden seating, with glass balustrades enabling visitors see all the way to the outside when using these spaces.

The layered arrangement of the concrete forms results in a dynamic interior with shifting views between the various internal spaces and out through the large windows.

The gr...