UK designers Heatherwick Studio are working with South Korea’s Haeahn Architecture on a makeover of Hanwha Galleria, a twin-building department store in Seoul’s Gangnam ward of Apgujeong-dong, close to the Han River.
Heatherwick’s design for the two buildings proposes inverting the usual inward-facing shopfront and creating public spaces surrounding the structures.
The twin buildings are alike but not identical and will contain a glass façade that creates a silhouette resembling a rippled hourglass.
Clad in a double layer of skin, at night the outer skin can be used as a backdrop for glowing projections.
When looking between the two structures they frame the Han River. Visitors can enter through a renovated underground subway to two landscaped plazas on the ground level.
A mid-level garden will have restaurants and shops, with the rooftop offering views across the city.
Neil Hubbard, Heatherwick Studio partner, said: “Here we have an important intersection in Apgujeong with two buildings, east and west, that felt like an opportunity to bring people together.
“Combined with Hanwha’s ambition to bring more activity to the buildings, we wanted to provide a strong overall silhouette that creates a gateway, but also gives Seoulites new garden-like spaces to meet, shop and enjoy their city.”
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