House Design with Vegetable Garden: Pojeon-jip by sukchulmok+BRBB Architects in South Korea

A Home That Embraces the Land

In Pocheon-si, South Korea, Pojeon-jip—meaning "a house that embraces the field"—is a poetic example of house design with vegetable garden. Designed by sukchulmok+BRBB Architects, the 128 m² residence blends architecture, privacy, and farming into a cohesive lifestyle. Its form hugs the owners’ cherished garden, framing views of nature while providing a sheltered, intimate living environment.

From Farmland to Forever Home

The site was once a 1,300 m² vegetable garden cultivated for over a decade by a retired couple. This land was not only a source of fresh produce but also a place of joy, rest, and daily ritual. The couple wanted a home that would let them remain connected to the soil they had nurtured, even as they transitioned into a slower, post-retirement lifestyle.

Designing for Privacy and Openness

When the architects first visited, the open clearing presented a privacy challenge. Their solution was to overlap the architectural mass with the site’s boundaries, merging the fence with the exterior walls. This approach allowed the house to feel both enclosed and expansive, creating protected courtyards and strategic sightlines toward the surrounding forest.

The house’s layered forms are built from intersecting volumes clad in materials of varying textures. Vertical gestures and the extended outer shell give the compact footprint a sense of scale, while the design maintains a visual connection to the landscape.

Rhythms of Form and Material

The walls and roof follow a modular grid based on 600×1200mm formwork panels, with consistent 2400mm key heights. This precision results in intentional rhythms where surfaces meet, producing an architectural depth that enhances the experience of space. The exterior feels strong and fortress-like, while the interior frames serene views like living paintings of the nearby hillside.

A Lifestyle Interwoven with Nature

Inside, farming and living are fully integrated. The design allows the residents to step directly from their kitchen or living space into their vegetable beds, reinforcing a daily connection to the land. The home’s structure supports multi-generational living, creating flexible spaces that adapt to family gatherings or quiet solitude.

Pojeon-jip is not just a house—it is an embodiment of a life philosophy. Here, farming is not a separate activity but part of the home’s rhythm, where each day unfolds alongside the scent of earth and the cycles of the seasons.

This project exemplifies how house design with vegetable garden can merge architectural aesthetics with sustainable living. Pojeon-jip preserves the intimacy of its site while opening new possibilities for how a home can embrace and protect the land it inhabits. It stands as a model for anyone seeking a life rooted in nature, memory, and thoughtful design.

All Photographs are works of hong seokgyu