Construction of Geum’yeok-dang, the Heung’hae Bae Clan House, and its Structural Changes during the Late Joseon Period -On the Architectural Ideology and Issue of Practicality-
Geum’yeok-dang house in Andong was originally constructed in 1558. The original floor plan of the upper base featured a 90-degree tilted ‘日’ shape, and had inner court(內庭) on each side of ‘Jungdang(中堂, center hall)’ building that was placed on the south-north axis. When designing the building, the Neo-Confucian client of Geum’yeok-dang applied his understanding of how Ga’rye(家禮) defined the structure of ritual space. Consequently, ‘Daecheong(大廳)’, the place where guests were greeted and ancestral rites and coming of age ceremonies for male were held, was built in a protruding fashion. ‘Jungdang’[otherwise known as ‘Jeongchim(正寢)’], where coming of age ceremonies for females were held, the master of the house faced death, and memorials for close ancestors were held, was placed at the center of the residence on the south-north axis. The Geum’yeok-dang today was greatly renovated in the early and mid 18th century, due to the spread of ‘Ondol’ heating system. As the Ondol heating system became popular, the pre-existing drawbacks and the inconvenience of the house stood out clearly. As a result, the house was renovated into today’s structure consisting of ‘口’ shape ‘Anchae’ and ‘Daecheongchae’ in separate building.