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    Traditional Korean pavilions inform open-sided Aesop store in Seoul

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    Skincare brand Aesop has collaborated with designer Samuso Hyojadong to create a store in Seochon, Seoul, that features an open facade and an oversized stone plinth.

    Positioned in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Seoul’s Jongno-gu district, the Seochon outlet was created to “fit harmoniously within its local context”, according to Aesop’s design team.
    Aesop designed the Seochon store with Samuso HyojadongWhen designing the store, Aesop and Hyojadong took cues from the architecture of jeongjas – traditional Korean pavilions with no walls, which serve as spaces for resting and taking in the surrounding views.
    The street-facing facade was created with mesh metal screens that can open out entirely to create a storefront with no walls. Once closed, the woven metal backing creates translucent windows through which passersby observe the softly lit silhouettes of uniform rows of bottles.
    Reclaimed timber features on the interior”Samuso extended the floorplate outwards to create a threshold that conveys a generous sense of hospitality,” the Aesop design team told Dezeen.

    “One [jeongja] in particular that inspired us was the Soswaewon in the Damyang region, which was built in the sixteenth century and is surrounded by a verdant garden.”
    An oversized stone plinth displays Aesop productsFor the store’s material palette, the designers referenced the timber and stone that are typically used to build traditional Korean houses known as hanoks.
    A large, rough-edged stone plinth displaying clusters of products was positioned at the entrance while various wooden accents were created with timber reclaimed from salvage yards and an abandoned house.
    Copper was used to create geometric cabinetsThe store was also built on a raised stone platform, which nods to the traditional architecture.
    Hanji paper created from mulberry tree bark sourced from South Korea’s Gyeongnam province features on the store’s walls, which frame central geometric cabinetry and sleek taps made of locally produced aged copper.

    Aesop store in south Seoul is a cosy red-brick retreat

    The designers were restrained in their use of sanding, sealants and coatings when treating the materials, opting to embrace their “natural imperfections”.
    “Sensitivity to texture in this store is superlative,” reflected the design team. “Samuso wanted each material to express itself directly, without too much human intervention,” it continued, referencing the roughness of the stone and the reclaimed timber’s undulating texture.
    The metal was also used to design sleek tapsRosewood was used to create the store’s signature fragrance armoire, which is hidden from view until opened out and was conceived as a traditional Korean jewellery box, according to the design team.
    “Throughout the store, we were compelled by a desire to dissolve the boundaries between inside and outside, between the naturally occurring and the human-made,” concluded the designers.
    The store’s signature fragrance armoire was informed by Korean jewellery boxesKnown for stores that pay homage to their varied locations, Aesop has an outlet in Cambridge defined by handwoven bulrush shelves that nod to the nearby River Cam and a Sydney store furnished with domestic items to evoke 1960s Australian homes.
    The photography is courtesy of Aesop.

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      Sukchulmok adds curved brick forms to rooftop of Parconido Bakery Cafe

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      Curved forms and arched openings feature in this cafe, which Seoul studio Sukchulmok has added to an existing building in South Korea’s Gyeonggi-do province.

      Named Parconido Bakery Cafe, the cafe is made from red bricks and features playful curved shapes and rounded walls designed to create an illusion-like effect.
      Parconido Bakery Cafe was designed by Sukchulmok”The space, created through one rule, was designed to give a sense of expansion and the experience of an optical illusion image,” lead architect Park Hyunhee told Dezeen.
      Arranged across three floors including a rooftop level, the cafe was designed by architecture studio Sukchulmok to resemble European public squares in reference to the client’s time spent in Italy.
      The studio topped the roof with curving brick volumes”The client who spent his youth living in Italy is a clothing businessman, opening the cafe as a business expansion to provide people with a space for peaceful rest,” said Park.

      “These two aspects naturally reminded me of the image of the European square, where people are huddled together talking on a sunny day between red brick buildings and stone pillars.”
      The design drew references from nostalgic memories of ItalyOn the rooftop level and terrace, the outdoor dining spaces are punctuated by clay brick columns with arched connections and walls with U-shaped openings.
      Built around steel frames that extend into curved forms above the brick walls, the curved elements are coated in bricks cut to two-thirds of their original thickness to lighten their weight.
      The walls and floors have curved edgesA long stainless steel table with a curved underside, along with circular stools and planting, is shaded by a removable canopy made from green, orange and white fabrics.
      Curved walls lined with white tiles join with the tiled floor and ceiling to create rooms with rounded forms on the interior levels of the cafe.
      The rooms are covered in small tiles of travertine limestone, selected for its use in the fountains of European squares.

      Nameless Architecture creates “artificial valley” at base of Gyeryongsan Mountain

      Kitchens are built into recesses in the curved walls, while wooden elements, including wall panels and pipes that line a portion of the ceiling, add a feeling of warmth to the interior.
      Throughout the spaces, uniquely designed seating areas and bespoke circular furnishings provide spaces for dining.
      The interior was covered in different textural materialsComprising twelve different designs, the cafe’s set of furniture was designed to exhibit a variety of shapes, textures, and materials, including leftover finishing materials, wood, overlapping pipes, and concrete castings.
      “Although they have slightly different shapes and textures, the pieces of furniture are all in harmony with the space and show good synergy with space as an object,” said Park.
      The cafe’s curved edges all have a radius of 600 millimetresTo maintain a sense of uniformity, the studio based the design of each element, including the walls, columns and furniture, around a circle with a constant radius of 600 millimetres.
      “A radius of 600 millimetres was used as an act of connecting spaces that were not monotonous,” said Park. “It was simply based on the idea that the distance from the height of the door and window to the ceiling finish is 600 millimetres.”
      Furniture was specially designed for the interiorOther South Korean cafes recently featured on Dezeen include a bakery with a curved courtyard designed to act as an “artificial valley” and a Seoul cafe with a vertical farm.
      The photography is by Hong Seokgyu.

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      WGNB completes colourless interior for golf supply store PXG

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      South Korean spatial design studio WGNB has completed a flagship shop for golf brand PXG in Seoul, featuring an achromatic material palette and a graphite-covered wall that leaves smudges on visitors’ clothing.

      The store is located in Seoul’s Gangnam district and was designed by WGNB to reference the graphite used to produce PXG’s golf clubs.
      WGNB has designed PXG’s Seoul flagship store”Rather than merely applying the material to every plane, we studied the characteristics of graphite itself,” the studio told Dezeen.
      “It is lighter than it appears and is an allotrope of carbon, like diamond. The graphite embeds calmness and humbleness. And, most importantly, it smudges.”
      A graphite-covered wall greets visitors near the entranceWGNB interpreted these characteristics in the pared-back forms and materials chosen for the shop’s internal surfaces and display furniture.

      At the entrances, visitors are greeted by a sculpturally engineered graphite block and a wall covered with graphite squiggles that will transfer onto hands and clothing on contact.
      Volumes of slatted steel are suspended from the ceilingA series of orthogonal volumes are suspended from the ceiling throughout the store to define various areas within the open-plan space and incorporate suspended rails for hanging apparel.
      Made using powder-coated steel slats, the volumes help to create a sense of lightness and buoyancy within the interior that is further enhanced by the cantilevered display unit at the centre of the store.
      An abstract animation that ties in with the shop’s visual language is displayed on the store’s prominent media wall instead of commercial images.

      WGNB designs all-black flagship store for fashion brand Juun.J

      The project brief called for a black interior in keeping with PXG’s visual identity. Instead of creating a monochromatic black-and-white interior, WGNB developed an achromatic design using shades of black and grey.
      “While monochromatic materials are limited to similar tones and hues, an achromatic scheme dismisses colour altogether, leaving materiality only,” the studio said.
      “We used various achromatic materials with unique textures and materiality, believing that these would emphasise the idea of shedding light on the essence of the material.”
      An abstract graphic is displayed on the central media screenThe limited material palette includes a micro-cement finish that was applied to walls and floors. These textured surfaces are complemented by engineered wood flooring, which is also used on some of the walls.
      The staircase leading up the mezzanine is finished in marble and cold-rolled steel while upstairs, a grey carpet and upholstered furniture introduce softness to the space.
      Grey carpet and upholstered furniture bring softness to the mezzaninePXG approached WGNB to design its flagship store after seeing some of the studio’s previous projects, including the all-black shop it created for fashion brand Juun.J in Seoul.
      The spatial design studio was established in 2015 and named emerging interior design studio of the year at the 2021 Dezeen Awards, with the judges commending its “interesting and different approach to retail design”.
      The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.

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      Sik Mul Sung is a Mars-themed cafe with its own vertical farm

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      South Korean studio Unseenbird has designed a cafe in downtown Seoul, where vegetables are grown in a glass-fronted cultivation room before being harvested, prepared and served to customers on a conveyor belt.

      Sik Mul Sung cafe was set up by agri-tech start-up N.Thing, which also runs a vertical farm on the outskirts of Seoul, to make the company’s technology tangible and accessible to everyday consumers.
      Unseenbird wrapped Seoul’s Sik Mul Sung restaurant in stainless steelLocal practice Unseenbird was tasked with designing the cafe’s interior and wrapped large portions of its walls, counters and fixtures in sheets of stainless steel.
      This is contrasted with decorative red rocks and a floor made of matching pebbles, in a reference to N.Thing’s ambition to build a vertical farm on Mars.
      The cafe’s space-age theme is also reflected in its futuristic green perspex surfaces, which are played off against textured plaster walls.

      Food is delivered to diners via a conveyor beltSik Mul Sung’s focal point is a brightly lit, glass-fronted cultivation room where rows of vegetables grow in a vertical farming system designed by N.Thing, which can function without sunlight or soil.
      When customers place an order, the vegetables are harvested and used as ingredients for salads and ice cream.
      Vegetables are grown on-siteFood is delivered to diners via a conveyor belt that circulates the cultivation room and runs along the curved bar.
      The food itself is presented on circular plates that rotate to recall a planet in orbit.

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      “Customers can feel the values and dreams of the company together by experiencing cultivation, harvesting, processing and consumption here,” said Unseenbird.
      “Not only was the characteristic applied functionally to the space but the brand identity was well realised with the finishing materials and tones.”
      The vertical farm does not need soil or sunlight to functionSik Mul Sung has been shortlisted in the small interiors category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      Other projects in the running include a serene timber and travertine reading room in Shanghai and a coffee shop in Shenyang, China, where stacked bottle-green beer crates form the furnishings.
      The photography is by Yongjoon Choi. 

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      Burdifilek creates “zen-like ambience” in Seoul shopping mall

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      Indoor trees, natural light and a sculptural 12-metre-high waterfall help to create a calming shopping experience inside the Hyundai Seoul department store in Seoul, with interiors designed by Canadian studio Burdifilek.

      Hyundai Seoul, which opened last year, is the largest shopping centre in the South Korean capital and spans 89,100 square metres – the equivalent of around 13 football fields.
      Raised platforms integrate trees and waterfalls into Hyundai Seoul’s atriumToronto-based Burdifilek was responsible for designing three of the 12 floors including a central atrium topped with a lightwell. This extends through the core of the building to funnel sun into the expansive floorplan.
      All of the retail spaces are organised around the atrium, which doubles up as a green belt to provide tranquil views of greenery and water from every vantage point.
      The platforms are held up by skinny columnsBurdifilek achieved its “zen-like ambience” through the addition of stilted platforms housing trees and waterfalls that cascade into shallow pools from a height of up to 12 metres.

      “Hyundai’s vision was to allocate 50 per cent of this floor plate to create public spaces where people can socialise in a much more experiential environment than the typical mall experience has to offer,” said Diego Burdi, co-founder and creative director of Burdifilek.
      “In 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.”
      The second floor houses high-end womenswearThe studio designed each floor to have a distinct visual language.
      The second floor, housing high-end womenswear, is a neutral gallery-like space with a subdued tonal palette.
      Instead of flashy colours, Burdifilek created interest through the use of flowing forms, contrasting textures and layers of reflective and translucent materials.
      Rippled ceiling panels create the impression of looking up at a reflective pondMirrored panels installed along the inner edges of the ceiling are rippled like water and create the effect of glancing up at a reflecting pond.
      Custom hanging fixtures were installed to create a feeling of lightness while indirect lighting emphasises the sinuous lines of the building.

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      The third floor features similar sculptural elements to those used on the second floor. But here, forms are bolder, colours are darker and natural materials are juxtaposed with more industrial ones.
      Cobalt-blue ribbons are used to suspend clothing racks from an unfinished ceiling, while custom-built mirrored display cases allow the featured brands to take centre stage.
      Ceilings are left unfinished on the third floor”Our philosophy was to create environments on each floor that would speak to a specific demographic, with a different design language while evoking nature in the spaces in various ways,” Burdi said.
      “We also strived to create some commonality through sculptural elements that will resonate with the guests and give a physical experience of wandering and exploring.”
      Mirrored display cases allow products to take centre stageBurdifilek was co-founded by Burdi and Paul Filek in 1993.
      Previous projects by the Toronto-based firm include the flagship for Canadian jacket brand Moose Knuckles, where dimly lit interiors evoke winter’s frigid darkness.
      The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.

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      Minimalist micro-apartments in Seoul form “blank canvas for tenants”

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      Interior designer Ian Lee has lined the walls of the LIFE micro-apartments in South Korea with birch wood to offer tenants pared-back spaces that they can personalise.Located in Seoul’s Gangnam District, the apartments form part of a 16-storey co-living building for young adults, developed by co-working-space provider Fastfive.
      The block contains a total of 140 rooms, which vary between 16 and 23 square metres in size, alongside shared living areas that Vancouver-based Lee also designed.

      LIFE micro-apartments are lined with birch joinery

      Lee’s goal for the LIFE apartments was to create deliberately simple, timeless interiors that were visually uncluttered.
      While helping to distract from the small size of the rooms, this offers tenants the opportunity to create homely, private spaces with their own furniture and belongings.

      The birch is intended to offer a minimalist finish
      “Like in many densely populated cities, most young adults in Seoul struggle to find homes as housing prices climb,” explained Lee.
      “I wanted this co-living space and the community it would build to be an accessible alternative to traditional housing options that can eventually give its residents a sense of belonging.”

      Built-in window seats and reading nooks feature in some rooms
      “One of my aims in designing these rental units was to find that balance, where the space feels timeless and comfortable as it is, but also like a blank canvas for tenants to personalise,” Lee continued.
      “The overarching goal was to evoke a sense of home.”

      Playful arched cut-outs are the only decorative elements
      Each apartment is fully equipped with a private kitchen and bathroom, with storage and appliances built-in or hidden within the birch-lined walls to maximise useable space.
      Some units are fitted with sliding glass partitions that can be used to divide the flats offering tenants flexibility while ensuring natural light can still filter through.

      Some apartments feature sliding partitions
      Lee chose birch as the main material for the micro-apartments to create a cosy finish, but also because the material forms a neutral backdrop for furnishings.
      The only decorative elements he has included are playful arched cut-outs, reading nooks and window seats, which he hopes contribute to the cosy aesthetic.

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      “Rental homes can feel generic, cold and utilitarian,” Lee explained. “The soft spatial elements like arches and curves were used to infuse warmth and emotions into the rooms.”

      Storage is built-in to maximise useable space
      The shared living spaces, which were not photographed, include a communal kitchen, workspace, lounge, gym and rooftop garden.
      Finished with an equally minimalist design, these are hoped to help foster community amongst tenants.

      Each apartment is fully equipped with a kitchen
      Other micro-apartments on Dezeen that feature wood-lined interiors include A Little Design’s 17.6-square-metre residence in Taiwan, which features built-in, space-saving furniture.
      Elsewhere in Taiwan, the studio also designed a 22-metre-square apartment with storage spanning one entire wall, covering the 3.3 metres from floor to ceiling.
      Photography is by Texture on Texture.

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      Nuwa is a micro guesthouse in Seoul with just one room

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      Design studio Z_Lab has included a huge porthole window and sunken bath inside this tiny guesthouse in northern Seoul, which measures under 30 square metres. Nuwa is tucked down a narrow alley in Seochon, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Seoul’s Jongno-gu district. The guesthouse takes over a traditional Korean home – otherwise known as […] More