Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a 30,000-square-meter park in one of Seoul's historic districts, opened to the public last week.
To establish the development's status as a cultural hub and catalyst for innovation, city officials hosted Seoul Fashion Week at the flowing, futuristic multiplex. In the coming months, the DDP will host five separate art and design exhibitions, according to Zaha Hadid Architects.
The public spaces within the DDP include a design museum, children's education center, and media center, as well as convention and exhibition halls.
The park sections incorporate concepts of traditional Korean garden design, like horizontality, layering, and fusing the interior and exterior spaces. Ultimately, no single feature is meant to dominate the design, according to Hadid.
Historic painting traditions depict aspects of nature to further the association between the park and those traditional design principles.
The DDP integrates the park and the plaza, intending to be a "green oasis" in the midst of urban Dongdaemun, the firm said.
The exterior envelope comprises more than 45,000 metal panels varying in size and curvature. It incorporates a range of perforation and pixelation patterns in order to create dynamic visual effects that change with the season and time of day. At certain times, the façade appears as a solid sheet of metal; at others, it seems to be made up of moving parts, according to the blog ILikeArchitecture.
Before DDP's construction, archaelogical and cultural artifacts were discovered in the area. DDP is built around these, as well as an ancient wall still standing in the area.
"These historic features form the central element of DDP's composition: linking the park, plaza, and city together," said the architect.
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
© Virgile Simon Bertrand
Related Stories
| Nov 17, 2013
Meet up with the BD+C team at Greenbuild. Drinks are on us!
To all our friends in the AEC industry, you are cordially invited to join the BD+C team at several fun events during the Greenbuild show this week. No RSVP required. Just show up and enjoy.
| Nov 15, 2013
Halls of ivy keep getting greener and greener
Academic institutions have been testing the limits of energy-conserving technologies, devising new ways to pay for sustainability extras, and extending sustainability to the whole campus.
| Nov 15, 2013
Pedia-Pod: A state-of-the-art pediatric building module
This demonstration pediatric treatment building module is “kid-friendly,” offering a unique and cheerful environment where a child can feel most comfortable.
| Nov 15, 2013
Metal makes its mark on interior spaces
Beyond its long-standing role as a preferred material for a building’s structure and roof, metal is making its mark on interior spaces as well.
| Nov 14, 2013
Fan of Frank Lloyd Wright? Here's your chance to run his architecture school
The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture has launched a search for a new director. Deadline for applications is January 6, 2014.
| Nov 13, 2013
Government work keeps green AEC firms busy
With the economy picking up, many stalled government contracts are reaching completion and earning their green credentials.
| Nov 13, 2013
First look: Renzo Piano's addition to Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum [slideshow]
The $135 million, 101,130-sf colonnaded pavilion by the famed architect opens later this month.
| Nov 11, 2013
4 trends driving the recovering commercial construction sector
Jones Lang LaSalle research reveals a four-point “new look” for the post-recession construction industry.
| Nov 8, 2013
Oversized healthcare: How did we get here and how do we right-size?
Healthcare facilities, especially our nation's hospitals, have steadily become larger over the past couple of decades. The growth has occurred despite stabilization, and in some markets, a decline in inpatient utilization.
| Nov 8, 2013
Can Big Data help building owners slash op-ex budgets?
Real estate services giant Jones Lang LaSalle set out to answer these questions when it partnered with Pacific Controls to develop IntelliCommand, a 24/7 real-time remote monitoring and control service for its commercial real estate owner clients.
