The first concrete project made by Herzog & Meuron, in Korea

The amazing concrete building in Seoul, Korea, that everyone must see! The latest minimalist design and architecture project.

Image Credit : Herzog & De Meuron

“Our experience designing contemporary art museums has increasingly focused on how we can bring art and people together. How can we make a space that works for the art and the artist, for the collector and the public? Many different needs have to be factored in to make a whole that works for everyone. Only then can such a place become a new attractor for urban life in a city. This new site will certainly strengthen SongEun’s presence within the city. But more importantly, we hope this new space will be an inspiring addition to the cultural topography and diversity of Seoul. – Herzog & de Meuron”

Image Credit: Herzog & De Meuron

Herzog & Meuron have realized a project in Korea for the first time, in Cheongdam Dom, one of Seoul’s most commercial areas. It is scheduled to open to the public in September 2021. This project is divided into two parts: ST International HQ consisting of offices and SongEun Art Space offering non-commercial art spaces with a wide variety of exhibitions. The first inaugural exhibition is scheduled for September 28, organized by the Swiss office in collaboration with the SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation.

Image Credit: Herzog & De Meuron

This building is quite geometric, monolithic, and based on a more minimalist style, yet it maintains a strong connection with local cultural and environmental contexts. It consists of 11 floors above ground, and 5 underground floors, thus extending over 8,000 m2. The architecture of this project is defined by a strong presence of textured concrete in a triangular shape, realized with wooden formwork, referring to SongEun’s meaning of “Hidden Pine”. Its triangular shape is due to the fact that the architects wanted to maximize the space according to the laws imposed by the city.

Image Credit: Herzog & De Meuron

The facade at the front is raised, complementing the adjacent buildings, and lowered at the back, in order to create an intimate space close to the gardens and neighborhood. On the front facade, the architects made a cut in the base to call visitors from the street to the main lobby and garden. Two wooden slats were added on the lower floors, which allow access to the main street and another integrated that to light up the offices. Of note is a large ramp, on the interior, which provides access to the parking lot. The curve of the ramp is simultaneously an opening in the ceiling of an underground exhibition space, which allows sound and light from the street to invade the space. On the upper floor, the curve of the ramp was used to make a spiral staircase leading to the galleries.

Image Credit: Herzog & De Meuron

As this duo’s next project, the transformation of the San Francisco Hydroelectric Power Plant was presented. The goal of this restructuring was to add a light steel structure on top, giving new life to one of San Francisco’s landmarks.