Chiasmus Partners

Chiasmus Partners is an international architectural practice founded in New York City in 2005 and now based primarily in Seoul and Beijing. Working across architecture, interiors and masterplanning, the studio's portfolio ranges from cultural and educational buildings to commercial spaces, offices and houses. Key projects include the Kyung Hee University SPACE21 campus masterplan, the Incheon Arts Center and the Red Diamond theatre in Beijing.

The practice is led by partners including Hyunho Lee, Chika Nomura and James Wei Ke together with its Seoul team. Lee studied at Seoul National University and the University of Michigan before working at Polshek Partnership Architects and Peter Marino Architect in New York. Nomura studied at Musashino Art University and Pratt Institute and has maintained a parallel involvement in architectural education. Wei Ke studied at the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University, and previously worked with Polshek Partnership Architects and Atelier FCJZ.

Chiasmus Partners approaches each project as an opportunity to gather the stories of its users and the latent poetry of a site, treating conflict as productive ground for intervention. The Orb House follows this position closely. Slope, views, the traditional annex relationship and the distance between generations are not reduced to a single programme; they become shifting connections between courtyard, curved wall, shared roof and changes in level.