Headquarters YG Entertainment
With its fingers on the cultural pulse and a social-media-savvy fandom K-Pop is a major player in the global music industry.
In 2017, K-Pop producers YG Entertainment invited UNStudio to design their new Seoul headquarters. Since completion, it has become a pilgrimage site for fans hoping to glimpse their idols.
UNStudio’s design is inspired by the client’s business and the music industry. The new building houses office spaces, meeting rooms and recording studios, all strategically organised to take advantage of a complex location while providing employees with an inspiring work environment.
The site borders two very different worlds: a low-density housing area on one side and a dense network of highways and bridges, and a large green park, on the other. This discrepant positioning informs the design, the building orientation and the internal organisation, and serves to open up views towards the river.
Interior
The well-known existing YG Building, next door, celebrates a ‘black in black’ interior concept. The new building’s interior is instead a brightly lit space with white tones and geometric lines. The contrasting surroundings are reflected in the interior organisation through an interlocking sectional concept, while visual coherence is maintained through materials and geometry.
The seven, light-filled, office levels are oriented towards the park. The meeting and collaboration spaces on the first four floors face an interior atrium. The interior façade of the atrium is punctuated by exposed capsule-like meeting rooms that can serve as either ‘working zones’ or ‘resting zones’. On the ground level, the atrium hosts a hidden garden and is a space to welcome guests. Wayfinding is integrated via a network of geometrical guiding lines , which also create a spatial hierarchy.
Urban Speaker
The protective shell of the building manifests as a new ‘urban speaker’. The existing YG Building is characterised by exposed concrete. Corresponding with the overall massing of the existing building, the new YG HQ aligns in height and floors with its older brother, but with a unique organisation enabled by its positioning between city and park. Clearly defined zones within the protective outer shell relate to the urban placement of the building. These zones are also defined from the inside, based on their particular use and interaction with the outside environment. Fully glazed areas are located towards the park, where balconies provide shade. Semi-glazed zones ease the transition towards a fully opaque façade facing the housing area. Here, perforated aluminium panels provide a glimpse of the functions and activities inside the building. Integrated planting also functions as an extension of the nearby park, contrasting with the metallic materiality.
During the day, the ‘urban speaker’ is designed to provide the best possible working environment; at night its glowing form becomes an identifiable Seoul landmark.
Project: Headquarters YG Entertainment / Location: Seoul, South Korea / Architect: UNStudio / Project team: Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber with Marc Salemink and Tiia Vahula, Hyoseon Park, Paul Challis / Advisors: Gansam Architects & Partners Co. Ltd / Interior design and Construction drawings public spaces: EOMJI HOUSE / Interior coordination: STUDIO YUUL / Lighting design: a•g Licht / Client: YG Entertainment / Use: Office, recording studios / Site area: 3,145m² / Gross floor area: 18,801m² / Completion: 2021 / Photograph: ⓒRohspace(courtesy of the architect)
