Seoul Architecture: A Guide to Cheongdam’s Flagships, Chipperfield and Kengo Kuma

Cheongdam, the flagship street

In Cheongdam-dong, in Gangnam, luxury houses compete for attention with the architecture itself. Maison Dior, completed in 2015 to a design by Christian de Portzamparc, is a white building of resin and fibreglass sails above a base marked with Dior’s cannage pattern; the folds are meant to echo the toiles of the couture atelier, flowing like white cotton cloth. Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul, completed in 2019, is Frank Gehry’s first building in South Korea, and it recalls his Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. The two make a useful comparison.

A corporate headquarters as public building

David Chipperfield Architects completed the Amorepacific headquarters in central Seoul in 2018. It is a carved volume with a diaphanous brise-soleil, and its large ground-floor atrium is conceived as a catalyst for cultural activity open to the city, while upper floors serve the company. The building adds public amenities, including a museum, auditorium, library and restaurants.

Skyline and public space

Lotte World Tower, by KPF, is a 123-storey supertall at 555 metres and the dominant mark on the skyline; Signiel Seoul occupies its upper floors. Seoullo 7017, by MVRDV, turned an old motorway overpass into a pedestrian garden and urban nursery, opened in 2017.

Hotels with a design story

Andaz Seoul Gangnam has interiors by Studio Piet Boon and a design inspired by bojagi, the Korean patchwork wrapping cloth. Fairmont Ambassador Seoul is in the Parc.1 complex on Yeouido, by Richard Rogers.

For eating, see a gastronomic guide to Seoul.

Sources: Wallpaper*: Seoul’s accelerating architecture scene; Domus: Amorepacific headquarters; Domus: Christian Dior in Seoul; Archilovers: Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul. Check the official websites for current information.