International architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) presented its design for Block H of the Yongsan International Business District (YIBD) in Seoul. The goal of YIBD is to create a new symbol for the 21st Century city; a new urban center in Seoul for international business, living, entertainment, and shopping.
Scheduled for completion in 2016, Block H consists of a luxury 5-Star hotel and high-end serviced residential building containing 167,225 square meters of space. The 385-meter-tall tower sits on a 14,600-square-meter parcel of land on the northeastern border of the YIBD, achieving an FAR of 11.4%. KPF’s building is situated in a way that seeks to mediate the extreme height (665m) of the landmark office tower to the northwest, and transition this height to the lower scale of the residential blocks beyond. KPF sought to intensify the social aspect of the street through a distinct urban landscape and diverse program at the lower levels of the building.
KPF’s tower contains casino, retail, and spa functions in the basement, and the firm proposed a podium building to accommodate a large banquet hall and other amenities for the hotel. The desire, however, is not to create a composition of tower and podium, but rather to create a tower that emerges or grows out of the podium like the organic growth of a crystal. The tower and podium are treated as one singular form, with a language of terraces and set-back forms that grow upwards and outwards towards light and views. +
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 70 Museum Architecture Firms for 2023
SmithGroup, Gensler, Ayers Saint Gross, Quinn Evans, HGA, and Cooper Robertson head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Architects | Feb 8, 2024
LPA President Dan Heinfeld announced retirement
LPA Design Studios announced the upcoming retirement of longtime president Dan Heinfeld, who led the firm’s growth from a small, commercial development-focused architecture studio into a nation-leading integrated design practice setting new standards for performance and design excellence.
Market Data | Feb 7, 2024
New download: BD+C's February 2024 Market Intelligence Report
Building Design+Construction's monthly Market Intelligence Report offers a snapshot of the health of the U.S. building construction industry, including the commercial, multifamily, institutional, and industrial building sectors. This report tracks the latest metrics related to construction spending, demand for design services, contractor backlogs, and material price trends.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2024
Top 80 Religious Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Parkhill, FGM Architects, GFF, Gensler, and HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Modular Building | Feb 6, 2024
Modular fire station allows for possible future reconfigurations
A fire station in Southern California leveraged prefab, modular construction for faster completion and future reconfiguration.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 30 Entertainment Center, Cineplex, and Theme Park Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, JLL, Nelson Worldwide, AO, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest entertainment center, cineplex, and theme park architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Urban Planning | Feb 5, 2024
Lessons learned from 70 years of building cities
As Sasaki looks back on 70 years of practice, we’re also looking to the future of cities. While we can’t predict what will be, we do know the needs of cities are as diverse as their scale, climate, economy, governance, and culture.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 90 Shopping Mall, Big Box Store, and Strip Center Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Arcadis North America, Core States Group, WD Partners, and MBH Architects top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest shopping mall, big box store, and strip center architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Laboratories | Feb 5, 2024
DOE selects design-build team for laboratory focused on clean energy innovation
JE Dunn Construction and SmithGroup will construct the 127,000-sf Energy Materials and Processing at Scale (EMAPS) clean energy laboratory in Colorado to create a direct path from lab-scale innovations to pilot-scale production.
Architects | Feb 2, 2024
SRG Partnership joins CannonDesign to form 1,300-person design giant across 18 offices
SRG Partnership, a dynamic architecture, interiors and planning firm with studios in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, has joined CannonDesign. This merger represents not only a fusion of businesses but a powerhouse union of two firms committed to making a profound difference through design.
