The Hyundai Seoul
The Hyundai Seoul is the largest department store in South Korea’s capital city, a retail landmark forming part of a multi-use complex combining business, shopping, and leisure in a single destination.
Design elements, including abundant greenery, expansive floorplates, and a waterfall garden, all contribute to a memorable and relaxed customer experience.
Tranquility by design
Toronto-based studio Burdifilek was commissioned to design three floors of the department store, including the atrium. The Zen-like elements introduced here are visible from all levels, illuminated by a central skylight. Leveraging the building’s unique architecture with multiple voids throughout, Burdifilek conceptualized a green belt that would wrap around the spaces and provide continuity and tranquility. This green belt becomes a runway for activities from social interactions to art displays, pop-up stages and inspiring encounters.
“We were given a substantial piece of architecture with many atriums. Hyundai’s vision was to allocate 50 percent of this floor plate to create public spaces where people can socialize in a much more experiential environment than the typical mall experience has to offer,” says Diego Burdi, one half of design partnership Burdifilek. “At the end our solution was inspired by Seoul’s surrounding nature. We chose to bring the outside in and create something unexpected that plays with scale and [eventually] the green concept began to extend to the whole environment.”
The visitor begins their journey with the auditory sensation of a 12m sculptural cascading waterfall, surrounded by organically shaped floating islands. Seating extends from these fluid forms. Reflective borders mimic tranquil waters along the inner edges of the ceiling planes.
From floors, to walls, ceilings, furnishings, fixtures and materiality, each floor presents its own dialect of experiences, tailored to the style of merchandise and the demographic of shoppers.
On the second floor, the women’s high-end fashion department is conceived as a sculpture garden. With an emphasis on textures and sculptural tonality, the floor offers a gallery-like space in which to meander and explore. Use of gentle, indirect lighting accentuates fluid forms to radiate an ethereal quality. Custom hanging fixtures elevate the feeling of lightness while providing a cohesive language for curated brands. A subdued color palette complements layers of reflectivity and translucency.
In contrast, the third floor is a ‘provocative wilderness.’ Bold sculptural elements sit amidst a creative backdrop of deep blue hanging systems and an aggressive materiality: contrasting natural and man-made materials, unfinished ceilings, vacuum-formed sculptural walls and a simple color palette.
In the words of co-founder Paul Filek: “This project is a celebration of many ingredients from retail and technology innovation to exceptional design and architecture each contributing to a memorable experience.”
Project: The Hyundai Seoul / Location: 108 Yeoui-daero, Yeoui-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, South Korea – Part of Hyundai Parc 1 mixed-use complex / Spaces design: Burdifilek – Ground Floor Atrium(Waterfall Garden) and Floors 2,3,4(Selected Areas) / Design team: Paul Filek(co-founder and managing partner), Diego Burdi(co-founder and creative director), Tom Yip(project manager), John Seo(concept designer and Korean translator), Michael Del Priore(concept designer), Shawn Li(designer), Daniel Mei(technical designer-CAD), Anna Nomerovsky(CAD), Anna Jurkiewicz(CAD), Yoonah Lee(CAD) / Lighting consultant: Marcel Dion / Project sector: Full-Line Department Store / Client: The Hyundai Department Store Group / Floor area: Floor 2 – 2,673m², Floor 3 – 2,733m², Floor 4 – 2,734m², total – 9,552m² (out of 89,100m² total area of The Huyndai Seoul) / Completion: 2021.2 / Photograph: ⓒYongjoon Choi (courtesy of the architect)
