Positioned amongst the designer boutiques of Apgujung Road, the 1980s Chungha building contains a leather accessories store on its ground floor. The upper levels accommodate more private businesses, including a wedding planner and two plastic surgery practices, so its tenants had previously covered over the strip windows and created a messy-looking exterior.

For the renovation, MVRDV removed the beige stone cladding and original glazing and replaced them with a facade of 18 boxes, each with a glazed shop window across its face. Different boxes were handed over to the various tenants, who can either fill them with product displays or screen them using translucent posters.

"The windows no longer correspond with the interior," MVRDV's Jan Knikker told Dezeen. "The general ambition was to keep them as large as possible. The upper windows also follow view lines across the city."

The boxes feature curved edges and the outer surfaces are clad with tiny mosaic tiles. "[They] resemble white foam from close-up and smooth white stone from further away," say the architects. A similar bubble pattern decorates the windows.

A new upper storey is set to open as a rooftop cafe with outdoor terraces.

MVRDV's other recently completed buildings include a shop and office complex disguised as an old farmhouse and a public library inside a glass pyramid.

See more architecture by MVRDV »
See more architecture in South Korea »

Photography is by Kyungsub Shin.

Here are more details from MVRDV:

Gangnam Style: MVRDV completes building transformation in Seoul

Just before a Korean pop-song became a global success on YouTube for the first time in history, and Gangnam became world famous as the nouveau riche hangout of the South-Korean capital Seoul, MVRDV was commissioned by Woon Nam Management Ltd. to redefine a building on Gangnams chic Apgujung Road. Even though the Chungha building was completed in the 1980's it was already outdated in a street dominated by flagship stores. The transformation, which added an extra level, was completed in just 9 months.

The Chungha building had become a rotten tooth in a fast changing streetscape dominated by single brand stores, this building contains a collection of brands in one. On the previous façade, a motley collection of fonts competed for the attention of passersby. The sober building's beige natural stone façade was ruined by commercial messages. The ground floor is occupied by French leather accessories label Louis Quatorze, the floors above hold a wedding planners' office, the clients' maintenance society and two plastic surgery practices. The discretion required by the clients of the plastic surgeries also had implications for the building. The windows of these floors were hermetically sealed, adding to the worn out feel of the structure.

The new façade concept is convincingly simple: Chungha is a multiple identity building which was transformed into a collection of shop windows so each commercial venture imposed onto the façade would have a fitting canvas for its display. The building's façade becomes more advertisement, and in that sense paradoxically more honest.

Curvaceous frames were found to be the best match to the large amount of shop windows, and a mosaic tile consequently became the façade material to follow the curves. LED lights change the buildings appearance. MVRDV was given nine months to complete the refurbishment. Adding to the complexity was the limited size of the construction site - five storeys tall but only 2,5 metres at its widest point. Construction workers were required to balance and squeeze themselves into narrow spaces.

Once unwrapped, the building appears reborn, its large windows are filled with transparent posters which provide space for changing brand identities and discretion for the clients of the plastic surgeon. A 10% addition on the top floor will be turned into a café with outside terraces, resulting in a total surface of 2,820 m2. The exterior façade tiles, which resemble white foam from close-up and smooth white stone from further away, are also used on the sidewalk and in the lobby.

MVRDV realised Chungha Building together with InC Design (co-architect and project management), Ain Construction, 1'st Structure, Total LED and M&S Ceramic.

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by MVRDV appeared first on Dezeen.

"We choreographed a contemporary dancer in a motion capture studio," Universal Everything founder Matt Pyke told Dezeen. "We then transformed the motion capture data into a digital sculpture, formed from the trails of human movement."

The hundreds of white light points that form the dancing figure become strands that glow yellow, then red, before solidifying into blue as the dancer moves across the screen.

Universal Everything produced animations at a highly detailed 16K resolution for the 25-metre-wide by four-metre-high screen in the Hyundai Vision Hall, located at the South Korean motor group's Seoul campus.

"The film was produced at such a high resolution to achieve a life-sized dancer moving through the space," said Pyke.

The studio and various collaborators created 18 short films for the hall to turn it into "a space that inspires leaders, engineers, scientists, workers and designers to learn, rethink, and collaborate."

More digital installations on Dezeen include Arik Levy's interactive screen that uses visitors' movements to mutate computer-generated crystals and a wall of digital animals that distract children on their way to surgery.

See all our stories about installations »

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by Universal Everything appeared first on Dezeen.

Designed by local studio Doojin Hwang Architects, the three-storey-high building is constructed entirely from terracotta-coloured bricks. "We attempted to emphasise the natural quality of the materials and avoided using too many different materials," say the architects.

The perforated wall spans the southern facade to screen the two residential upper storeys. During the day it lets in light without permitting a view inside, but after dark the positions of windows are revealed behind.

"This unique pattern of bricks produces various shadow patterns by change of the time and the season, and makes the space rich and alive," explain the architects.

The northern facade of the building has a more traditional construction of solid brick walls and rectangular windows, with a glazed shop unit at ground level. Currently this space is used as a cafe, while a small gallery occupies the basement floor below.

A staircase on one side of the cafe leads up to the residential floors. Bedrooms and a bathroom are located on the first floor, while a living room and adjoining kitchen are on the uppermost storey. In the future, these floors could also be adapted to accommodate two individual apartments, each with views of the mountains to the north.

Named the West Village Building, the mixed-use structure is located close to Gyeongbok Palace and was completed in 2011.

Other houses to complete recently in South Korea include The Curving House, a residence clad with silver brickwork, and Pangyo House, which features a curving facade with extruded windows. See more architecture in South Korea.

Photography is by Youngchae Park.

Here's some more information from Doojin Hwang Architects:

The West Village Building

The West Village building, located in the West Village near Gyeongbok Palace, is a low-rise, high-density, mixed-use building. This area is full of multi-layered beauty of Seoul. To preserve historic and cultural ambience of the area, we proposed a typical 'rainbow cake' building, a concept developed by DJHA. This 3-storey building incorporates both residential and commercial functions vertically.

To design an 'ordinary but not ordinary' building, we tried to create a building rooted in its location and tried not to disturb the ambience of the historic West Village area, where the building is located. Large northern window commends a panoramic view towards Mt. Bukak and Mt. Inwang. On the southern facade, a unique brick pattern was used as a visual filter to screen the view of the building in front while allowing sunlight in. This unique pattern of bricks produces various shadow patterns by change of the time and the season, and makes the space rich and alive.

Main material of The West Village is bricks. We attempted to emphasise the natural quality of the materials and avoided using too many different materials.

Likewise, the interior was finished with paint rather than expensive, unique finish materials. Residential spaces on the 2nd and 3rd floors are partitioned by built-in furniture, which is integrated with lighting. Lightings were installed at the upper part of the furniture; the indirect light illuminates the ceilings.

Architect: Doojin Hwang (Doojin Hwang Architects)
Design team: Jeongyoon Choi
Location: Seoul
Year of completion: 2011
Floor: 3F + 1BF
Area: 209.83m²

Contractor: Janghak Construction
Structure engineer: Hwan Structural Engineers
Mechanical engineer: Daekyoung Engineering
Electric design: Daekyoung Engineering
Civil engineer: GeoTech Engineering & Consultants

Above: site plan - click for larger image

Above: basement floor plan - click for larger image

Above: intermediate floor plan - click for larger image

Above: ground floor plan - click for larger image

Above: first floor plan - click for larger image

Above: second floor plan - click for larger image

Above: cross section - click for larger image

Above: south elevation - click for larger image

Above: west elevation - click for larger image

Above: north elevation - click for larger image

Above: east elevation - click for larger image

The post The West Village Building
by Doojin Hwang Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Above: Shinsegae Main, Seoul

The "Shop in Shop" concept was devised to encompass four stores in Seoul and one in Hong Kong. The architects designed a free-flowing shape, then divided it up into 16 pieces that could be distributed to each of the stores for use as a modular display system.

 Above: Shinsegae Main, Seoul

Referred to by Zaha Hadid Architects as an "artificial landscape", the curving shapes feature a variety of twists, folds and rotations that reference the moulded interior of Neil Barrett's flagship Tokyo store, completed by the studio in 2008.

Above: Galleria Main, Seoul

Each block is different and can be used in a variety of arrangements to display different garments, shoes and accessories.

Above: Galleria Main, Seoul

The stark white colour of the objects contrasts with the polished black flooring underneath. This monochrome theme continues throughout each store, where walls are painted in alternating shades of white and black.

Above: Galleria Main, Seoul

The studio is now working with Neil Barrett to roll out more Shop in Shop stores in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere in Seoul.

Above: Hyundai Daegu, Seoul

Zaha Hadid Architects has been busy over recent weeks. In the last month the studio has released images of a lakeside cultural complex underway in China, revealed designs for a complex of towers in Bratislava and launched a system of twisting auditorium seats. See more architecture and design by Zaha Hadid on Dezeen.

Above: Hyundai Daegu, Seoul

As well as collaborating with Hadid, British designer Neil Barrett has also worked with Italian studio AquiliAlberg, who designed the angular scenography for his 2010 Autumn Winter catwalk.

Above: Hyundai Daegu, Seoul

Photography is by Virgile Simon Bertrand.

Above: Hyundai Daegu, Seoul

Here's some more information from Zaha Hadid Architects:

Neil Barrett Shop in Shop

A display landscape

The 'Shop in Shop' concept for Neil Barrett is based on a singular, cohesive project that is divided into sixteen separate pieces. Specific pieces have then been selected and installed into each of the four Neil Barrett Shop in Shop's in Seoul, and also into the Hong Kong shop; creating a unique display landscape within each store. Each separate element acts as a piece in a puzzle of the original ensemble, ensuring each shop maintains a relationship to the defined whole and with the other Neil Barrett Shop In Shop locations.

Above: Hyundai Daegu, Seoul

The pieces have been carved and moulded from the original solid as pairs that define each other to create an artificial landscape that unfolds multiple layers for display. The emerging forms engage the same design principles adopted for the Neil Barrett Flagship Store in Tokyo; the characteristic peeling, twisting and folding of surfaces has been extended to incorporate double curvatures and rotations.

Above: Hyundai Main, Seoul

Adaption to multiple conditions

The display landscape is a flexible modular system that allows multiple arrangements and adaptations according to specific locations and multiple conditions, developing an original space at every location. The pieces can be used individually or pieces can be used in conjunction with others from the collection accordingly to suit the scale and spaces of each shop, with each piece able to display shoes, bags or accessories.

Above: Hyundai Main, Seoul

Materiality

The Shop in Shop concept continues the geometries of the Tokyo Flagship Store, developing a dialogue between the Cartesian language of the existing envelope walls with the sculptural, smooth finish of each piece. This contrast of materials in combination with the formal language of the design plays with these visual and tactile characteristics and is further accentuated by the black polished floor.

Above: Hyundai Main, Seoul

Neil Barrett Shop in Shop designs are located in Seoul and Hong Kong:
» Galleria Main, 3F, Galleria Luxury Hall East, 515, Apgujung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
» Hyundai Main, 4F, Hyundai DPS, 429, Apgujung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
» Shinsegae Main, 5F, Shinsegae DPS, 52-5, Choongmuro 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
» Hyundai Daegu, 2F, Hyundai DPS, 2-ga, Gyeosan-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu. Seoul
» The Landmark, B1/F, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong

Zaha Hadid Architects and Neil Barrett are continuing their collaboration on further Shop in Shop concepts to open in Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul.

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by Zaha Hadid Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

News: a library dedicated to design has opened in South Korea's capital city, offering access to over 11,000 books chosen by an international team of curators and critics.

The Hyundai Card Design Library is backed by the country's largest credit card issuer, which claims "there are few design museums and libraries in Korea, whereas Korean colleges every year churn out more than 30,000 novice designers."

A team including British critic and Golden Lion-winner Justin McGuirk, MoMA curator Paola Antonelli and New York architecture and design journalist Alexandra Lange was brought in to select the books, which cover topics including architecture, industrial design, graphics, photography and branding.

Of the 11,678 books selected for the library's shelves, more than 7000 aren't available anywhere else in South Korea and over 2600 are either out of print or very rare.

The firm also hopes the initiative will appeal to a cultured group of potential customers: "It makes people feel that if you have a Hyundai Card, you get access to an enriched lifestyle," says a spokeswoman.

While most libraries are open to the general public or to academic communities, this library can only be accessed by the company's credit cardholders and their guests, and then a maximum of eight times each month.

Alongside the book collection, the library contains a cafe and an exhibition space, while on the second floor is an area for reading and discussing ideas around a large steel table. The top floor contains a small attic-like space inspired by a reading room in an old Korean palace where princes could concentrate quietly on their studies.

The curatorial team also wrote commentaries on nearly 1000 of the selected books, which can be read through an iPad app available to library users.

Located in Gahoe-dong, an area once home to Seoul's scholars and noble classes, the library was designed by architect Choi Wook of Seoul studio One o One.

Earlier this year we reported that a fully digital public library without a single book is set to open this autumn in San Antonio, Texas, while in New York, architectural firm Foster + Partners is planning to completely overhaul the city's public library – see all libraries on Dezeen.

See all architecture in Seoul »

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in Seoul appeared first on Dezeen.