Hasta La Ideas

Amsterdam architects UNStudio have completed this department store in Cheonan, South Korea.

Called Galleria Centercity, the building has facade comprising two layers of lamellas, which create a moiré effect.

Above photograph is by Kim Yong-kwan

Animations and light patterns are projected from this skin at night.

Daylight is admitted through the facade and reflected around the all-white interior to reduct the need for artificial lighting.

Areas of the department store are set aside for cultural programming, including exhibitions and fashion shows.

More about UNStudio on Dezeen »

Above photograph is by Kim Yong-kwan

Photographs are by Christian Richters/View unless stated otherwise.

The information below is from UNStudio:

Ben van Berkel / UNStudio’s Galleria Centercity in Cheonan – “If museums are turning into supermarkets, why then should department stores not turn into museums?”

“The Galleria Cheonan responds to the current retail climate in Asia, where department stores also operate as social and semi-cultural meeting places. Because of this, the quality of the public spaces within the building was treated as an integral aspect of the design.” Ben van Berkel

Above photograph is by Kim Yong-kwan

Eye Shopping – Re-conquering the public domain within a commercial destination

UNStudio’s Galleria Centercity Department Store in the Korean city of Cheonan reclaims the social and cultural space within the private, commercial large scale department store.

Rather than being the outcome of a prescriptive, standard-critical approach, the design of the Galleria Centercity is based on observations of current behavioural tendencies in large commercial spaces. Particularly in South East Asia, department stores serve a highly social function; people meet, gather, eat, drink and both shop and window shop in these venues. The department store is no longer solely a commercial space, it now offers the architect the opportunity to build upon and expand the social and cultural experience of the visitor. If today we are seeing the museum as a supermarket, then we are also now seeing the department store as a museum.

An expanded interpretation of utility beyond efficiency and profitability is at the heart of the design. In view of this, along with a more varied programme, UNStudio’s design seeks to provide a stimulating experience for the visitor.

Above photograph is by Kim Yong-kwan

On the outside, this is translated into an appearance that is almost impossible to fix. The double layered facades are articulated in a trompe l’oeuil pattern of vertical mullions. The vertical lines on the façade make the scale of the building unreadable; does it contain three floor levels, or fifteen? On the inside, this play with scale and dimension is continued in a way that is at least as radical as the outside. Upon entering, the department store is revealed as a layered and varied space which encourages investigation and unfolds as you move through and up the building.

Programmatically, the Galleria Cheonan incorporates a number of cultural and public spaces, including an art and cultural centre and a vip room. In the basement, a food court and specialty supermarket constitute another distinct destination within the building, which is simultaneously integrated with the overall design strategy.

Above photograph is by Kim Yong-kwan

Cheonan –New city development as platform for innovation

Situated some 80km south of Seoul, Cheonan is well connected to the capital by railway and road, with a new high speed rail link having recently been completed. The area around the new high speed terminal is under development and – prominently visible from the main road – the Galleria Centercity marks the entrance to this new development area.

“The most interesting thing to me about the effect of the Galleria Cheonan is that, because of the organisation of the atrium and the moiré treatment of the facade, Illusions are created which result in the seeming alteration of scales and the creation of double images. No image is permanent in this building.” Ben van Berkel

Dynamic Flow and optical illusion on a grand scale

The main architectural theme for the Galleria Cheonan is that of dynamic flow. This is found both inside and outside. The architecture of the 66,000 m ² building responds to its central position by presenting a deliberately changeable aspect all-around. Moiré effects, special lighting and animations ensure that the outside changes appearance constantly.

The double layered facade encloses the building, with a number of strategic openings incorporated into the inner facade layer. These openings provide daylight to the interior. At the same time, the lamellas of the outer façade prevent direct sunlight from entering the building, ensuring a cooler environment, while the use of white finishes throughout the interior minimises the need for artificial lighting.

The interior derives its character from the accumulation of rounded plateaus on long columns. The repetition of curves, enhanced by coiled strip lighting in the ceilings of the platforms, gives the interior its distinctive character. Four stacked programme clusters, each encompassing three storeys and containing public plateaus, are linked to the central void. This organisation propels a fluent upstream flow of people through the building, from the ground floor atrium to the roof terrace. As the plateaus are positioned in a rotational manner in space, they enable the central space to encompass way finding, vertical circulation, orientation and act as main attractor of the department store. The spatial and visual connections within the space are designed to generate a lively and stimulating environment, in which the user is central.

Media facade – The largest illuminated surface of its kind in the world

The strategy for the building enclosure consists of creating an optical illusion. During the day the building has a monochrome reflective appearance, whilst at night soft colours are used to generate waves of coloured light across the large scale illuminated surface. The lighting design was developed in parallel with the architecture and capitalises on the double layered facade structure. Computer generated animations specially designed by UNStudio are incorporated into the lighting design and refer to themes related to the department store, such as fashion, events, art and public life.

Place branding – not name branding

Rather than creating a platform for a multiple billboard effect made up of individual brand identities, the thematic animated content of the fully integrated media façade facilitates a more holistic and site-oriented urban approach to branding.

UNStudio

Design team: Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber with Ger Gijzen, Marc Herschel and Marianthi Tatari, Sander Versluis, Albert Gnodde, Jorg Lonkwitz, Tom Minderhoud, Lee Jae-young, Woo Jun-seung, Constantin Boincean, Yu-chen Lin

Interior: Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber with Ger Gijzen, Cristina Bolis and Veronica Baraldi, Lee Jae-young, Felix Lohrmann, Kirsten Hollmann, Albert Gnodde, Martijn Prins, Joerg Lonkwitz, Malaica Cimenti, Florian Licht, William de Boer, Eelco Grootjes, Alexia Koch

EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT/ SITE SUPERVISION/ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

GANSAM Architects & Partners, Seoul, KoreaI

See also:

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Dance Palace by UNStudio	Burnham Pavilion by UNStudio	MUMUTH by UNStudio

Basel studio Pedrocchi Architekten have designed an extension to this fashion house in Austria with a faceted glass front.

The Foeger Woman Pure fashion house has huge concrete beams that criss-cross one another within the domed structure.

The interior consists of raw concrete, glass and natural stone flooring with exposed metal clothes rails that hang down from the beam.

Photographs are by Ruedi Walti Aussen

Here is some more information from the architects (in German):

Spektakulärer Neubau von Foger Woman Pure in Telfs

Seit 20 Jahren gehört „Foger Woman Pure“ zu den führenden Modehäusern Österreichs. Das ist das Werk von Midi Föger und ihrem verlässlichen Gespür für Stile und Trends. In der 15.000-Seelen-Gemeinde Telfs in Tirol bietet sie ihren Kundinnen Designermode aus den internationalen Metropolen.

Jetzt überrascht sie mit einem Aufsehen erregenden Um- und Neubau ihres Stammhauses. Der Schweizer Architekt Reto Pedrocchi erweiterte das Modehaus um einen kuppelartigen Bau, der die Kollektionen von neuen, viel versprechenden Modemachern wie Alexander Wang (New York) oder Peter Pilotto (London) beherbergt.

Damit setzt Midi Föger ihren eigenwilligen Weg spektakulär fort: „Erstklassige Mode bedarf eines erstklassigen Verkaufsrahmens“, umreißt die Inhaberin von Föger Woman Pure ihr Konzept. In Reto Pedrocchi hat sie einen Architekten gefunden, der ihren mutigen Ideen einen passenden Rahmen gibt. Mit seinem 140 m2 großem Anbau schuf er ein neues Wahrzeichen in der 15.000-Seelen-Gemeinde Telfs.

Diese Architektur soll auffallen“, erklärt der Basler Architekt. Trotz seines jungen Alters (wurde 1973 geboren) blickt er bereits auf eine beeindruckende Liste von Bauten zurück. Reto Pedrocchi arbeitete für das weltbekannte Architekturbüro Herzog & de Meuron als Projektleiter am gläsernen Flagship-Store von Prada in Tokyo, entwarf mit seinem ehemaligen Partner Beat Meier für das gemeinsame Architekturbüro Pedrocchi Meier Architekten unter anderem in China und Davos.

Für das japanische Avantgardelabel Comme des Garcons konzipierten die Basler Architekten zwei sogenannte „Guerrilla Stores“. Ein weiterer Höhepunkt ist die Teilnahme an einem Projekt des chinesischen Künstlers Ai Weiwei. In der inneren Mongolei plante Reto Pedrocchi zusammen mit Beat Meier eine von 100 Villen die im Jahr 2011 realisiert werden soll. Seit Fertigstellung der Erweiterung des Modehauses Föger, von Pedrocchi Meier Architekten, leitet Reto Pedrocchi nun sein eigenes Architekturbüro, Pedrocchi Architekten, in Basel.

Das Modehaus „Föger Woman Pure“ inszenierte der Architekt als einen Ort der Innovation und Kontemplation. Eine teilweise nach vorne gekippte Glasfront zieht sich über den gesamten Komplex und verbindet den Altbau mit dem vorgelagerten Neubau. Dieser ist betont ruhig gehalten, nüchterne Materialien wie Rohbeton oder Glas kontrastieren mit einem Natursteinboden in warmen Farben und einem Geborgenheit ausstrahlenden Lichtkonzept.

Der Erweiterungs-Neubau ist eine moderne Pilgerstätte“, erklärt der Architekt. Blickfang im Inneren ist ein sich kreuzender Betonträger, der die 7,3 Meter hohe kuppelartige Konstruktion aus Glas und Beton auf halber Höhe durchzieht. An ihm hängen überdimensionale Kleiderhaken aus Metall. „Ich wollte auch in der Präsentation der Mode neue Wege beschreiten“, so Midi Föger.

Seitdem sie das Modehaus 1988 als alleinige Inhaberin von ihrem Vater übernahm, führt sie die Creme de la Creme der internationalen Mode. Seit Beginn ihrer Laufbahn verkauft sie die. Kreationen von Designlegenden wie Miuccia Prada, Ann Demeulemeester oder Dries Van Noten. Anlässlich des Umbaus ihres Modehauses erweitert sie jetzt ihr Sortiment um eine ganze Reihe internationaler Newcomer: „Junge Frauen zwischen 35 und 50 greifen heute für Mode nicht mehr so tief in die Tasche.

Bei Design und Qualität wollen sie aber trotzdem keine Kompromisse eingehen.“ Ihnen bietet Midi Föger mit den Kreationen der amerikanischen Shooting Stars Alexander Wang und Jason Wu, des Briten Christopher Kane oder des Tirolers it-Designers Peter Pilotto Mode, die man in Österreich sonst kaum kriegt.

Stil, ist Midi Föger überzeugt, ist keine Frage des Alters oder des Einkommens. Das soll auch in Zukunft das Erfolgsrezept ihres spektakulären Tiroler Hauses sein.

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DURAS Daiba by Chikara Ohno	Arnsdorf temporary concept store by Edwards Moore	Alberta Ferretti store by Sybarite

Foster + Partners have completed two modular headquarters for Moroccan bank BMCE in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco.

The design comprises a concrete frame enclosed by glazed panels, covered by screens made of cut and curved sheet steel.

The double-height entrance hall of each building features a bank of seating connected to the domed roof by a swooping ribbon of concrete.

Offices and meeting rooms are arranged on two floors in the remainder of the building.

Each branch is organised on a modular grid, to be repeated and adapted according to location.

More about Foster + Partners on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Nigel Young, courtesy Foster + Partners.

Here are some more details from Foster + Partners:

Foster + Partners completes first project in Africa with BMCE branches in Morocco

The first regional headquarters branches for Moroccan bank, BMCE (Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur) have opened in Rabat and Casablanca, with a further branch in Fez due to complete shortly – they are the first buildings by Foster + Partners to be completed in Africa.

The banks’ contemporary interior is wrapped by a traditional, energy efficient envelope and their design is based on a modular system, which utilises local materials and craftsmanship to create a striking new emblem for BMCE.

The design follows a ‘kit-of-parts’ approach, with variations in colour and scale according to the bank’s location. Each building comprises a concrete frame, with an entrance colonnade and a series of bays repeated on a modular grid.

The bays are enclosed by glazed panels and 200mm-deep screens, which provide shade and security.

The screens are cut from sheets of stainless steel – a special low-iron mixture that does not heat up in the sun – which are curved to create a geometric design, based on traditional Islamic patterns.

The branches are designed to be highly energy efficient and use locally-sourced materials, such as black granite and grey limestone.

All BMCE flagship branches feature an ‘earth tube’, an electricity-free cooling system: fresh air is drawn into an empty pipe that encircles the building underground, where it is naturally cooled by the earth and released into the branch.

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The dome, a recurrent element in each bank, is a reference to the design of a number of new schools in Morocco, which have received philanthropic support from BMCE Bank Foundation.

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The interior of the dome is rendered in tadelakt, a local plaster technique, while the exterior is clad in zellige, traditional ceramic tiles.

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The dome form sweeps down into the banking hall to create a sculptural curved bench.

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Lord Foster commented:

“The BMCE flagship branches – our first completed buildings in Africa – reinterpret elements of traditional Moroccan architecture, combining these with a contemporary interior that reflects the Bank’s progressive approach to its customers.

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This blend of ancient principles and modern technology is also reflected in an energy efficient design. The result is a series of buildings that are sustainable and each one, uniquely, of its place.”

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BMCE Bank Branches
Morocco 2007 – 2011
Foster + Partners Team: Norman Foster, David Nelson, Stefan Behling, Michael Jones, Kate Murphy, Ingrid Solken, Tommaso Franchi, Charles Di Piazza, Lara Thresher, Giuseppe Giacoppo, Rana Mezher, Susana Sousa, Benedicte Artault, Judith Kernt, Ben Cowd
Client: BMCE Bank (Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur)
Collaborating Architects: Amine Mekouar, Karim Rouissi-Empreinte d’Architecte
Main Contractor: TGCC
Cost/Project Managers: Cap Advise
Structural Engineers: Buro Happold, Ateba
Mechanical Engineers: Buro Happold
Landscape Architect: Michel Desvigne
Lighting Consultant: George Sexton Associates

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Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners	Masdar Institute campus by Foster + Partners	Sperone Westwater gallery by Foster + Partners

Following last week’s release of a statement and the start of a boycott by more than 100 artists against the Guggenheim, claiming the labor practices at the foundation’s ongoing construction of a new, Frank Gehry-designed museum in Abu Dhabi, the organization has issued a letter in an attempt to do some damage control and win the protestors back. In the letter, signed by Guggenheim’s director, Richard Armstrong and its chief curator, Nancy Spector, the letter spells out all the work the foundation has done to try and maintain safe and fair working conditions, and promising to do more and include the artists into the process. It sounds like a genuine plea, that the Guggenheim is worried about the damage the boycott will do, but now that the ball is in the protester’s court, as of this writing, they’ve yet to respond. Here’s a bit from the letter:

We believe that the statements that were made last week by Human Rights Watch have painted an inaccurate picture of the substantial progress in safeguarding workers’ rights that has been made to date. Clearly, the Guggenheim shares the goals expressed by you, the signatories of your petition, and Human Rights Watch to protect worker’s rights in Abu Dhabi. We believe that the progress made thus far is more than ceremonial. In fact, it signals fundamental changes in the emirates’ decades-long labor practices. It is important to us that you understand this was achieved through persistent and sustained effort on our part working in tandem with TDIC. We recognize that there is still much to strive for but know from past experience that change such as this is incremental around the world. It is very troubling to us that your statement portrays the Guggenheim as a passive agent with little consciousness of the issues at hand. That is the exact opposite of the truth.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

What happens when you give four recent architecture grads one week, $500, and an empty foyer? Recently, Ball State University’s new Institute for Digital Fabrication invited PROJECTiONE (four recent graduates of the College of Architecture and Planning) to produce a site-specific work fabricated in their facilities. With the help of the students from the Institute, PROJECTiONE completed their project in a week—a single day devoted to design, one day of modeling in Rhino/Grasshopper and materials testing, and three shared days of fabrication, assembly and installation.

Their final product, “EXOtique” is a lit, component-based, drop ceiling installed in the west entrance of the campus’ architecture building.

Explains PROJECTiONE:

Our intention was to create a simple, hexagonally based, component system that would act as a lit “drop ceiling” for the space. The ceiling height allows for quite a bit of variation in the surface. Everything was accomplished in Grasshopper besides the input surface from Rhino, this includes all unrolling for fab, label, patterning, and connections. Also, there was no hardware used for connections besides the given hangers for the lamp cords. This cut costs and allowed our materials to work to each other’s benefit. Tabs on the styrene lock into the solid acrylic connectors, acting as a rigid sidewall, causing the material to bend within the component as apposed to its edges. This allows all components to meet evenly and create a rigid shell after being connected. The lit hexagonal panels act as the hanger connection point for the piece. A custom acrylic tab was created to hold the socket cable after being thread through the component, which attach to clips tied to the waffle grid.

Watch the video after the jump for a great overview of their process!

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