{"id":779198,"date":"2025-03-18T09:03:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T09:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=779198"},"modified":"2025-03-24T08:28:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T08:28:46","slug":"gangnam-style-heatherwick-wins-seoul-convention-centre-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/gangnam-style-heatherwick-wins-seoul-convention-centre-contest","title":{"rendered":"Gangnam style: Heatherwick wins Seoul convention centre contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas Heatherwick’s London-based studio defeated an undisclosed shortlist or rival teams to win the commission to rethink the purpose and facade of the prominent conference and exhibition venue in the South Korean capital. The name Coex is a portmanteau of \u2018convention\u2019 and \u2018exhibition\u2019.<\/p>\n

Heatherwick\u2019s winning concept will transform the building\u2019s current \u2018unremarkable fa\u00e7ade\u2019 with a concept featuring modular boxes of varying sizes inspired by a cabinet of curiosities.<\/p>\n

Key aims include maximising material reuse and creating a fa\u00e7ade that is \u2018open, engaging and unmissable \u2013 breaking away from the fortress-like appearance of the current structure\u2019.<\/p>\n

Heatherwick executive partner and group leader Stuart Wood said: \u2018Ironically for places that bring people together, most convention centres feel imposing and uninviting and are often devoid of public activity.<\/p>\n

\"Heatherwick

Heatherwick studio has won a competition to reimagine the Coex convention centre in Seoul<\/p>\n\t

Source:Image by Devisual<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Our design will radically reinvent Coex to become a new cultural destination for the city of Seoul, that attracts both locals and visitors alike.<\/p>\n

\u2018Varied and unusual, our \u201cdisplay case\u201d design offers endless potential to curate art, performance, dining, entertainment, nature and is a true representation of Seoul\u2019s creative power.<\/p>\n

\u2018We want Coex to become an irresistible place that is open, dynamic and always culturally relevant.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Gangnam district achieved global fame in 2012 through the K-pop song \u2018Gangnam Style<\/a>\u2019 by singer PSY, which parodied the region\u2019s nouveau richer reputation.<\/p>\n

Heatherwick Studio<\/p>\n

Heatherwick\u2019s win comes two months after the studio was named as one of five finalists in the contest to design a Queen Elizabeth II memorial<\/a> in London\u2019s St James\u2019s Park.<\/p>\n

Last summer, the practice won a competition to overhaul Hanwha Galleria<\/a>, a department store in the south-east of Seoul.<\/p>\n

The Coex upgrade is planned to complete in 2029.<\/p>\n