Everyday spaces soon become world-class works of art!

Bookstores, museums, art galleries, performance halls, and shopping malls we pass by every day.
What if these familiar spaces were the work of world-renowned architects? Indeed, Seoul, where millions of lives intersect, is a living work of art, imbued with the imagination and philosophy of world-renowned architects.
"Seoul, Becoming a Work of Art" illuminates the design intent and details contained in spaces we often overlook, shedding new light on the aesthetics and cultural value of Seoul.
Through the moment when everyday spaces are transformed into art, it makes us reconsider the cultural value of the city of Seoul.

When Cesar Pelli was first commissioned to design the Kyobo building, the client did not respect the architect's philosophical thinking and artistic quality, and requested a design that was a copy of the unconventional and standardized exterior of the American Embassy in Japan that he had seen.
After this design was completed, Cesar Pelli was constantly compared to the exterior of the U.S. Embassy in Japan and the Kyobo building in Gwanghwamun, and it was talked about for a long time.
--- From "Kyobo Life Insurance Headquarters Building, Caesar Pelli"

Completed in 2007, the New York Times building is a project near Times Square in Manhattan, USA, boasting a height of 319 meters and a construction scale of 59 floors above ground.
This project was initially criticized as a flawed design that completely violated the privacy of the workers inside, as the interior of the building was visible from the outside.
However, Renzo Piano dissuaded these concerns by expressing the 'transparency of the press' through eco-friendly design language and imagery.
--- From "KT Gwanghwamun Building EastㆍRenzo Piano"

David Chipperfield is said to have first considered the architectural expression of the "restrained beauty and pure beauty of white porcelain of Joseon Dynasty" when designing the Amorepacific headquarters building.
He expressed Yongsan, Seoul, the most rapidly changing city in Korea, in the most beautiful and concise form, creating a comfortable and rich sense of space.
--- From "Amorepacific Headquarters, David Chipperfield"

Zaha Hadid seems to have started designing the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) from the same perspective as Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
As we proceeded with the design, we paid attention to the historical and dynamism of Dongdaemun, and tried to incorporate the future value and vision of the region, which lives and breathes 24 hours a day, into the design, building on the foundation of the region's history, culture, and economy.
Thus, it expressed a living, breathing vitality with various curves so that it could become a symbolic space representing the Republic of Korea and Seoul.
--- From "Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) and Zaha Hadid"

For Frank Gehry, this project was his first design in South Korea, but its small scale did not live up to his reputation.
However, because of the symbolic nature of it being the first design in our country, the burden was enormous, and traces of the struggles that went into the design of Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul can be seen everywhere.
For example, before conceptualizing this building, Frank Gehry tried to find symbolism in its appearance through a DNA-linked design with the Louis Vuitton Foundation Museum in Paris, France.
--- From "Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul, Frank Gehry"

The SongEun Art Foundation and architects Herzog & de Meuron systematically prepared various construction stories from the beginning for the establishment of SongEun Art Space.
A representative example is the design and direction of the exterior finishing materials, which were inspired by the foundation's name, 'Song-eun (松隱),' meaning hidden pine tree.
As a result, the unique texture of concrete was used to express a pattern reminiscent of the grain of pine trees.
--- From "SongEun Art Space, Herzog & de Meuron"

Riken Yamamoto is a Japanese architect with extensive experience in designing apartment complexes, and is an architectural expert who has emphasized the importance of living space and community throughout his life.
He has been gradually expressing the spatial improvement of community culture, which he considers important, in various designs in order to realize his positive thinking about housing research in Japan.
--- From "Gangnam Everseum, Yamamoto Riken"

Architect Tom Mayne designed the One&Only Tower, embodying the cutting-edge material patterns developed by Kolon in the exterior design of the building, thereby promoting the company's core technologies.
This groundbreaking design prevents the main view of Magok from being taken away by Seoul Botanical Garden and other buildings, and boasts the appearance of the most fashionable building.
The fiber-like façade structure creates a sense of openness when looking out onto the park from inside the building, while also blocking excessive sunlight, and symbolically acting like a large tree that protects the building from the cold and heat.

--- From "Kolon One & Only Tower, Tom Main"