Seoul skyscraper

Building complex on the Yeouido Peninsula, semester project. 1998

STUDY
ETH Zurich, Department of Architecture
Design, term paper, 1998
With Prof. Mario Campi

TEAM
Fawad Kazi

DESCRIPTION
Cities are characterized by epochs and are thus images of past and present social and cultural forms of expression. The resulting variance characterizes the city as a place of concentrated urbanity. If this range is reduced, the city runs the risk of becoming monotonous. Urban expansions or new urban planning are particularly exposed to this danger.

This commercial complex with associated cultural institutions is based on established references and is to be understood as a complementary element within the urban fabric of the Yeouido peninsula.

The high-rise building marks the center of the complex in a strategically important location. Adjacent buildings complement the situation and create a striking urban setting.

An underground retail zone with a subway connection acts as a distribution level. The constantly formed plinth zone accommodates mainly public facilities and thus extends the urban space to street level. Office floors rise above this. A restaurant and an indoor swimming pool in the crown of the high-rise guarantee public access at a predestined height.

The façade is clad with curtain-type granite panels. Metal panels as secondary cladding elements and the windows are embedded in self-supporting frame elements made of chrome-nickel steel. The crown of the high-rise building is also clad in chrome-nickel steel and shines as a symbol of future-oriented development within a skyline in the making.

PHOTOS
Yves Kubli

Fawad Kazi Architekt GmbH
Langstrasse 14
8004 Zurich
Switzerland