Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Korea

Glassy Plaza of Seoul

Zaha Hadid, founder of Zaha Hadid Architects and the winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is well recognized for her exclusive innovative design concepts across the world. Her works achieve a global status instantly and resembles a new model to the entire field of architecture. One of her innovative projects spoken even today is the 'Dongdaemun Design Plaza', Seoul. Her artistic interpretation was excellently depicted through the design of the structure, which has created an excellent cultural hub for the people of Seoul. Zaha Hadid's Architects exclusively shares with Built Expressions about her works on this innovative project. This article is second in series-our tribute to this internationally reputed architect.

The Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) has been designed as a cultural hub at the centre of Dongdaemun, an historic district of Seoul that is now renowned for its 24-hour shopping and cafes. DDP is a place for people of all ages; a catalyst for the instigation and exchange of ideas and for new technologies and media to be explored. The variety of public spaces within DDP include Art/Exhibition Halls, Conference Hall, Design Museum/Exhibition Hall/Pathway, Design Labs & Academy Hall, Media Centre, Seminar Rooms and Designers Lounge, Design Market open 24 hours a day; enabling DDP to present the widest diversity of exhibitions and events that feed the cultural vitality of the city.

The DDP Park is a place for leisure, relaxation and refuge - a new green oasis within the busy urban surroundings of Dongdaemun. The design integrates the park and plaza seamlessly as one, blurring the boundary between architecture and nature in a continuous, fluid landscape. Voids in the park's surface give visitors glimpses into the innovative world of design below, making the DDP an important link between the city’s contemporary culture, emerging nature and history. The 30,000 square meter park reinterprets the spatial concepts of traditional Korean garden design: layering, horizontality, blurring the relationship between the interior and the exterior - with no single feature dominating the perspective. This approach is further informed by historic local painting traditions that depict grand visions of the ever-changing aspects of nature.

Designed by Zaha Hadid, the first female architect to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the DDP is the world’s largest three-dimensional asymmetrical architectural structure. Zaha Hadid’s DDP design, entitled "Metonymic Landscape," uses the historical, cultural, social, and economic characteristics of Dongdaemun as its foundation and projects that into an image of its future. Zaha Hadid focused on the dynamism of the Dongdaemun area, which is in a state of constant flux from the early morning to late at night, and incorporated it into her architectural design, creating a unique structure that seamlessly connects natural and artificial spaces with curved and oblique lines and surfaces. This innovative design concept of the DDP highlights the symbolism of the Dongdaemun area and adds to its distinctive landscape.

Design Brief

DDP is the first public project in Korea to utilize the 3-Dimensional Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other digital tools in construction. "Throughout the design process, every building requirement was considered as a set of inter-related spatial relationships which will define the social interactions and behavioral structure in/around the project. These relationships became the framework of the design, defining how different aspects of the project, such as spatial organization, programmatic requirements, and engineering come together. With parametric building information modeling software and design computation, we were able to continually test and adapt the design to the ever-evolving client's brief as well as integrate engineering and construction requirements. These technologies helped to maintain the original design aspiration throughout the project's construction. It also streamlined the architectural design process and coordination with consultants. The parametric modeling process not only improved the efficiency of workflow, but also helped to make the most informed design decisions  within a very compressed project period; ensuring DDP's success throughout  life-span,” states Ar. Zaha Hadid. 

Built in Facade

The unique exterior of the DDP highlights an asymmetrical and amorphous architectural beauty that incorporates curved and oblique lines and surfaces as well as acute and obtuse angles, rather than straight lines and right angles. "The DDP façade cladding system is an exemplary result of such a process. Construction of the exterior envelope of DDP was a challenge as the cladding system consists of over 45,000 panels in various sizes and degrees of curvature. This was made possible by the use of parametric modeling with an advanced metal-forming and fabrication process to develop a mass-customization system. Parametric modeling enabled the cladding system to be designed and engineered with much greater cost and quality control. Throughout the construction process, the cladding model was adjusted to incorporate various engineering, fabrication, and cost controls while maintaining the integrity of the original design. The completed façade incorporates a field of pixilation and perforation patterns, which creates dynamic visual effect depending on the lighting conditions and seasonal changes. It will take on different characters as the external condition changes. Sometimes, it will look as a singular entity; sometimes, it blends with the surrounding landscape as part of the complete ensemble of Dongdaemun. At night, the building will reflect all the LED lights and neon signs of the surrounding buildings. With the interplay of the built-in façade lighting, the building’s appearance will be animated and take on the characteristics of its unique urban settings," shares Ar. Zaha.

Structure

Created to showcase the world's latest design trends and innovations, the DDP is expected to serve as a place where the past, present, and future of Seoul peacefully coexist. With "Design with People" as its motto, the DDP will pursue innovative ideas, discover diverse talent, and work to enrich the lives of the people. It will also be a base of operations for the creative industries, an educational center for young and talented individuals, and an open workplace for the people. Furthermore, the DDP aims to achieve complete financial autonomy by keeping its doors open 24 hours a day and capitalizing on the 60 major tourist attractions in the area. The DDP, a design platform that reinvents the dynamism of Korea, it covers an area of 62,692m2 with a total floor space of 86,574m2 and consists of three basement floors and four floors above ground (containing the Art Hall, Design Museum, Design Lab, Design Market, and Dongdaemun History and Culture Park), encompassing five different facilities with 15 unique spaces. It is the result of a KRW 484-billion project (KRW 421.2 billion for construction costs and KRW 62.8 billion for operation preparations) that was completed on November 30, 2013, and is now waiting to reveal its elegant interior and exterior to the public.

Construction Trends

DDP encourages many contributions and innovations to feed into each other; engaging the community and allowing talents and ideas to flourish. In combination with the city's exciting public cultural programs, DDP is an investment in the education and inspiration of future generations.  DDP’s design and construction sets many new standards of innovation. DDP is the first public project in Korea to implement advanced 3-dimensional digital construction services that ensure the highest quality and cost controls. These include 3-dimensional Building Information Modeling (BIM) for construction management and engineering coordination, enabling the design process to adapt with the evolving client brief and integrate all engineering requirements. These innovations have enabled the team building DDP to control the construction with much greater precision than conventional processes and improve efficiencies. Implementing such construction technologies make DDP one of Korea's most innovative and technological advanced constructions to date.

The design approach of the DDP employs mega-trusses and a space frame that minimizes the use of columns and creates a gigantic space that rivals that of the universe. Various individual spaces, including the Exhibition Hall, Library, and Convention Hall, feature walls, ceilings, and lighting that have been designed with gentle curves reminiscent of fluid flow. This design creates a perfect harmony among the various spaces and highlights the gentle yet dramatic curves of the paths that connect them. The DDP has been highly praised by architects, at home and abroad, for its asymmetrical structure that showcases a wonderfully unique architectural beauty.

The DPP is based on an innovative parametric design, and the interior and exterior are finished with contoured panels and amorphous interior finishing materials as well as exposed concrete, creating an incredibly unique atmosphere. While architectural structures typically consist of horizontal and vertical lines, the DDP was designed and built with curves and coordinates as its basic elements. Also, it employed an innovative design approach called Building Information Modeling (BIM) and three-dimensional design methods that create more elaborate curves than their two-dimensional design counterparts.

Sustainability

The DDP employs an eco-friendly and energy efficient geothermal system. At a depth of 150m underground, a temperature of roughly 12? is maintained all year round. Geothermal systems take advantage of this to perform heating and cooling functions. The system used in the DDP is equipped with 88 pipes running 150m into the ground, which serve to both heat or cool the various parts of the DDP.

Major Platform for Exposure

The DDP is expected to serve as a major location for exhibitions and a place where various brands and trends converge and collaborate for mutual prosperity through its vision, "Dongdaemun: Reaching out to Seoul, Asia, and the world." The opening of the DDP will be celebrated with a variety of exhibitions, such as the Gansong Art Museum Special Exhibition featuring over 80 national treasures, including the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, an origin of Korean design. This exhibition will be held as part of a three-year agreement with the Kansong Cultural Foundation, through which the Gansong Art Museum and the DDP will jointly host shows.In 2014, various exhibitions will be held at the DDP as a collaborative effort to present a variety of creative designs. These exhibitions will include "Design Sports," "Zaha Hadid: 360°," "Design Allegory of Enzo Mari towards Utopia," and "Ulm Models-Models after Ulm: Ulm School of Design 1953-1968."

Through these exhibitions, the DDP will come to serve as a starting point for design and a source of creative resources while making great contributions to sharing the value of Korean design, expanding the design world, and addressing urban issues.

The structure's remarkable design and appearance portrays the extreme artistic inspiration by the architect. The plaza is accessible to everyone thereby creating a new kind of civic space to the public. Thus, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a new form of attraction to the capital city South Korea and its people.

Fact Sheet

• Project name: Construction of the Dongdaemun Design Park (DDP)
• Location: 281 Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea (location of the former Dongdaemun Stadium)
• Scale: A total area of 86,574 Sqm
• Project period: September 2006 ~ February 2014
• Total cost: KRW 484 billion
• Facilities: As below
  • Ø 5 facilities with 15 spaces - Art Hall 4,953.48 Sqm; International Conference Hall; Learning Center 7,928.49 Sqm; Design Museum; Design Exhibition Hall; Design Pathway; Museum Café; Design Lab 8,206.08 Sqm; Design Lab 1 and 2; Designer’s Lounge, Academy Hall; Dongdaemun History and Culture Park 4,110.60 Sqm; Eco-friendly Design Park.

• Design Market: A public space, open 24 hours a day, which incorporates cultural content, various public conveniences, and retail space using the shop-in-shop concept
• Architecture firms: Zaha Hadid Architects and Samoo Architects & Engineers
• Construction Company: Samsung C&T
• Management: Seoul Design Foundation