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Schemata Architects embraces rough material finishes for gallery in Seoul

The rough finishes of an existing concrete and brick structure are contrasted by white exhibition spaces at Arario Gallery in Seoul, completed by Japanese studio Schemata Architects.

The gallery is located at the rear of the Space Group Building, a modernist icon in South Korea that houses the Arario Museum.

Designed by architect Kim Swoo-geun, the grey-brick, heritage-listed building was completed in the 1970s and converted into the museum in 2014.

Exterior of the Arario Gallery in Seoul by Schemata Architects — Arario Gallery sits alongside the grey-brick Space Group Building

Alongside this building is a glazed extension from the 1990s by architect Jang Se-yang, a student of Swoo-geun, as well as a traditional South Korean home, or hanok, which was relocated to the site when it reopened in 2014.

Amid this architectural backdrop is a brick and concrete structure added to the site in the 1980s, which Schemata Architects was tasked with converting into the Arario Gallery.

“It was a great challenge for me, a Japanese architect, to work on the third building – excluding the hanok – especially after seeing the perfect contrast between the two buildings already created by the master and the disciple,” said Schemata Architects Principal Jo Nagasaka.

Interior of the Arario Gallery in Seoul by Schemata Architects — The gallery spaces are contained in white rooms

Looking to create a space that “looks unchanged on the outside”, the studio retained the building’s structural frame and dark brickwork, originally chosen to complement the Space Group Building.

“In this context, we thought that inserting another unique feature into the landscape would not be appropriate,” explained Nagasaka.

White gallery interior with grey brick floors — Brickwork extends across the floor of the basement

Organised across four floors and a basement level, the white-walled gallery spaces sit alongside the existing staircase, lift, service and storage areas, where the structure’s rough material finishes have been left exposed.

In these more industrial-feeling spaces, walls have been made using plywood on metal frames. Teamed with metal doors and white metal balustrades, they deliberately stand out against the “skeleton” of the existing building.

In the basement, the dark grey brickwork of the adjacent museum is mirrored in a brick floor that extends throughout the space.

On the third floor, sections of the exterior wall were removed to create a full-height glass wall in the VIP area. This looks out towards the nearby Changdeokgung Palace and a surrounding park, also visible through windows in the stairwell.

Concrete stairwell with white stairs — White metal accents highlight new additions to the Arario Gallery

“In this way, we established repetitive patterns where visitors would emerge from the white cube into a skeleton space and see the palace beyond as they ascend to the upper floors,” said Nagasaka.

Lounge area in Seoul by Schemata Architects — Large windows in the Arario Gallery overlook Changdeokgung Palace

Schemata Architects is a Tokyo-based studio, Founded in 1998 by Nagasaka after he graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts.

Its previous projects include a public bathhouse in Tokyo finished with turquoise tiles and a hillside guesthouse and bar for a home on the coast of an island in the Seto Inland Sea.

The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.

Reference

Architecture

SML reinterprets ginseng cultivation structure as retail store, seoul

By Zarkon Group,21/01/2024

an exhibition-like retail space for punggi

In Seoul, SML translates the traditional structure used to cultivate ginseng into a contemporary interior feature for the exhibition, promotion store, and sales center for Korean brand Punggi. The minimal, all-white space pays homage to the history of the plant, reimagining the traditional ‘Sampoeojang’ module with modern timber flair that weaves through the space to shape a retail area. With a modular form, products presented in a museum-like manner invite visitors to learn more about ginseng’s cultivation processes and the brand’s identity, as well as to purchase Punggi’s creations at the end of their journey

all images by Kyungsub Shin

SML tells the story of ginseng amid the white walls

Embracing a passive branding strategy, SML’s design focuses on forming a spatial image that conveys the reputation of Punggi Korean Ginseng to a broader audience by spotlighting a differentiated, and yet-unknown image of the brand. The exhibition space, cloaked in pure white, serves as a canvas for the story of ginseng, with sophisticated wooden furniture embodying the brand’s inherent values. This design further seeks to subtly guide visitors through a journey that integrates brand exploration with the natural progression towards consumption.

The promotion wall takes center stage, transforming the main products into objects of art through careful curation. In a thoughtful play of physical materials and display methods, the wooden furniture-type structure of the display stand introduces a compelling contrast, as well as exuding a sense of warmth into the space. Each display case, set against the whiteness of the room, showcases products along a circular wooden member that softly circulates the space.

Punggi Ginseng Cooperative Association store in Seoul

The Korean Peninsula, famed for being the world’s premier ginseng producer, owes its reputation to a blessed natural environment. The Punggi Korean Ginseng, which is recognized as the best quality among them, is a perennial plant with a slow growth rate and specific cultivation requirements, is grown in a sunshade system called Sampoeojang over three to six years. In this way, this structure is considered a ‘ground for cultivation’, the very ‘house of ginseng’, recalled in SML’s design concept.

SML creates an exhibition, promotion store, and sales center for the Korean brand

the promotion wall takes center stage, transforming the products into objects of art through careful curation

Reference

Sustainable News

Five innovative design projects from Seoul Design 2023

By Zarkon Group,19/11/2023

A modular shelter made from cardboard, a street bench made of recycled plastics and oyster shells and an inkless pencil are among the highlights of this year’s Seoul Design.

For its 10th anniversary, Seoul Design 2023 looked at what role design should play in creating a sustainable future under the theme of Valuable Life.

The annual event, which is hosted by the Seoul metropolitan government and organised by Seoul Design Foundation, combines the Seoul Design Week festival and tradeshow Design Launching Fair.

This year, it focused on elevating Korean design brands to the global stage and had a strong environmental and sustainable angle.

“We want to open up our design industry to more businesses and distributors internationally, to make Korean design truly global, ” Seoul Design Foundation’s CEO Rhee Kyung-Don told Dezeen.

Read on for a roundup of five of projects that showcase Seoul Design 2023’s sustainable approach:

Seoul Design 2023 Shigeru Ban pavilion — Photo is courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects

Disaster Temporary Housing Module by Shigeru Ban

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has designed a version of his temporary shelters – which can be used to house people affected by war and environmental disasters – especially for Korea.

The prototype is a simple structure that uses cardboard tubes as columns. Honeycomb cardboard made from hanji, a Korean traditional paper, form the shelter’s modular wall panels, while cardboard tubes function as its roof structure.

The foundation was composed of makgeolli (Korean rice wine) crates, instead of steel or concrete, to minimise the environmental impact and keep costs low. By adding modular wall units and columns, the size of the shelter can be extended when necessary.

The shelter can be built without the help of skilled builders, since all the materials are lightweight, and was designed to be easy to assemble and disassemble for relocation.

Seoul Design 2023 Taesan Bench — Photo is courtesy of Lowlit Collective

Taesan Bench by Lowlit Collective

Taesan Bench is a street-furniture range sourced and manufactured from Tikkle plastics. Made from discarded plastic, the bench was enhanced using biomaterials such as oyster shells and natural fibres.

Developed by Seoul-based design studio Lowlit Collective, the bench is the first piece in a wider collection and takes its inspiration both from Korea’s mountainous terrain and the practice of traditional sumukhwa – ink-wash painting. The recycled plastic was ground by hand, resulting in unique patterns and colours.

Seoul Design 2023 Zai pencils — Photo is courtesy of One+Design/MW

Zai pencils by One+Design/MW

Seoul-based design studio One+Design/MW has presented two types of pencils under the brand Zai that it claims will last a long time without sharpening.

According to the studio, the carbon-ink pencils never require any sharpening and would never break. It says this is because their ink core has been compressed 100 times more than a normal pencil.

The studio also showed an inkless silverpoint pencil, composed of metal alloy and silver, that it claims will last forever. The company aims to cut the cost and environmental impact of conventional wooden pencils.

Hairbrushes by University of Seoul Industrial Design Department students and LABO-H

A team of four senior students from the University of Seoul Industrial Design Department has created eight different hairbrushes for a more fun and accessible hair-washing experience.

The students collaborated with shampoo brand LABO-H to explore how design can shape people’s basic daily behaviours and contribute to a positive social impact. Materials used in the brushes include silicon and plastics recycled from coconut shells.

Among the designs were a triangle-shaped hand-held brush suitable for washing a fringe of hair, and a set of three finger caps with different cap shapes to give a more intense hair-massage experience.

LABO-H held an online vote for the public to choose their favourite brush design and will manufacture the most popular one.

Seoul Design 2023 Zero Waste Pavilion — Photo is courtesy of ITM Architecture Office

Zero Waste Pavillion curated by Yoo Ehwa

Zero Waste Pavillion was a public resting area located at the central square of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). Curated by architect Yoo Ehwa from ITM Architecture Office in Seoul, the pavilion was built entirely with paper and sawdust supplied by local manufacturers.

Sawdust used for the floor was made of coconut chips from handmade floorboard specialist Kujung Maru, while paper rolls from paper company Hansol Paper were adapted into stools and presentation boards. All materials used in the pavilion will be recycled and reused after the exhibition.

Seoul Design 2023 took place from 24 October to 2 November 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Reference

Interior Design

Traditional Korean pavilions inform open-sided Aesop store in Seoul

By Zarkon Group,08/09/2023

Skincare brand Aesop has collaborated with designer Samuso Hyojadong to create a store in Seochon, Seoul, that features an open facade and an oversized stone plinth.

Positioned in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Seoul’s Jongno-gu district, the Seochon outlet was created to “fit harmoniously within its local context”, according to Aesop’s design team.

Interior of Aesop Seochon — Aesop designed the Seochon store with Samuso Hyojadong

When designing the store, Aesop and Hyojadong took cues from the architecture of jeongjas – traditional Korean pavilions with no walls, which serve as spaces for resting and taking in the surrounding views.

The street-facing facade was created with mesh metal screens that can open out entirely to create a storefront with no walls. Once closed, the woven metal backing creates translucent windows through which passersby observe the softly lit silhouettes of uniform rows of bottles.

Timber accents within South Korean Aesop store — Reclaimed timber features on the interior

“Samuso extended the floorplate outwards to create a threshold that conveys a generous sense of hospitality,” the Aesop design team told Dezeen.

“One [jeongja] in particular that inspired us was the Soswaewon in the Damyang region, which was built in the sixteenth century and is surrounded by a verdant garden.”

Oversized stone plinths topped with bottles — An oversized stone plinth displays Aesop products

For the store’s material palette, the designers referenced the timber and stone that are typically used to build traditional Korean houses known as hanoks.

A large, rough-edged stone plinth displaying clusters of products was positioned at the entrance while various wooden accents were created with timber reclaimed from salvage yards and an abandoned house.

Geometric copper cabinetry — Copper was used to create geometric cabinets

The store was also built on a raised stone platform, which nods to the traditional architecture.

Hanji paper created from mulberry tree bark sourced from South Korea’s Gyeongnam province features on the store’s walls, which frame central geometric cabinetry and sleek taps made of locally produced aged copper.

The designers were restrained in their use of sanding, sealants and coatings when treating the materials, opting to embrace their “natural imperfections”.

“Sensitivity to texture in this store is superlative,” reflected the design team. “Samuso wanted each material to express itself directly, without too much human intervention,” it continued, referencing the roughness of the stone and the reclaimed timber’s undulating texture.

Sleek copper taps within Aesop store — The metal was also used to design sleek taps

Rosewood was used to create the store’s signature fragrance armoire, which is hidden from view until opened out and was conceived as a traditional Korean jewellery box, according to the design team.

“Throughout the store, we were compelled by a desire to dissolve the boundaries between inside and outside, between the naturally occurring and the human-made,” concluded the designers.

Jewellery box-style fragrance armoire — The store’s signature fragrance armoire was informed by Korean jewellery boxes

Known for stores that pay homage to their varied locations, Aesop has an outlet in Cambridge defined by handwoven bulrush shelves that nod to the nearby River Cam and a Sydney store furnished with domestic items to evoke 1960s Australian homes.

The photography is courtesy of Aesop.

Reference

Sustainable News

Seoul Design Award seeks projects that facilitate “sustainable daily life”

By Zarkon Group,15/01/2023

Promotion: Seoul Design Award is seeking entrants who have designed projects that solve everyday problems in sustainable ways for its annual design prize.

Submissions to this year’s Seoul Design Award, which is free to enter and has a top prize of KRW 50 million (£31,500), are set to open in March 2023.

The awards will be given to designers “whose projects have contributed to a sustainable daily life that aims for a harmonious relationship between people, society and the environment”.

Split image of seaweed from the sea and tiles — The award considers sustainable designs from across the world

Designers can submit any design from the past five years that was built to solve everyday problems – from reducing food waste to conserving energy.

The projects can be submitted by an individual or group and will be judged based on five core values, including sustainability, public and shared, creativity and innovation, participation and cooperation, and inspiration and influence.

Previously known as the Human City Design Award, this year’s Seoul Design Award will be open for entries from 14 March to 28 June 2023. Now in its fourth edition, the 2023 edition of the award will expand to include 25 accolades.

“Over the past three years, design projects that have been awarded the Human City Design Award have addressed everyday problems such as environmental pollution, regional inequality, the gap between the rich and the poor, and discrimination against the socially underprivileged,” said the organisation.

“Ahead of 2023, the Human City Design Award will change its name to the Seoul Design Award in order to pursue the sustainability of daily life beyond the city.”

Split image of the Goyohan Taxi project — One of the projects that received an award in 2021 was the Goyohan Taxi

In 2021, which was the last edition of the award, the top prize in the safety and security category was won by Goyohan Taxi – a taxi service run by hearing-impaired people that was created by South Korean designer Song Min-Pyo to make travelling easier for those with hearing loss.

The project included a mobile device that aims to improve methods of communication between passengers and taxi drivers with a voice-to-text conversation app, which enabled passengers to communicate their destination, preferred drop-off point and choice of payment method.

An honourable mention in the 2021 selection was awarded to Gardens in the Air by Spanish design studio Nomad Gardens.

The project involved recycling water from air conditioning units to irrigate planting on the exterior of a building in Seville, Spain.

Gardens in the Air was designed to reduce Seville’s heat island effect and provide drinking water to the 70 species of birds in the surrounding area.

Plant boxes on the exterior of a white building — Gardens in the Air reuses water from air conditioning units

One of the finalist projects of the 2020 award was Sururu Da Mundaú by Brazilian manufacturer Portobello, a decorative tile made from recycled mussel shells.

According to Portobello, the Sururu Da Mundaú tile makes use of the 300 tonnes of mussel shells produced every month in Mundaú, Brazil, which would otherwise be discarded as waste.

Portobello worked with local artisans on the project, which the Seoul Design Award recognised as demonstrating “the value of cooperation and innovation”.

The project also created a range of new community activities by encouraging local citizens to participate in the tile making.

For more information on the awards or to apply, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for the Seoul Design Award as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Reference

Seoul

Schemata Architects embraces rough material finishes for gallery in Seoul

SML reinterprets ginseng cultivation structure as retail store, seoul

an exhibition-like retail space for punggi

SML tells the story of ginseng amid the white walls

Five innovative design projects from Seoul Design 2023

Traditional Korean pavilions inform open-sided Aesop store in Seoul

Seoul Design Award seeks projects that facilitate “sustainable daily life”

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