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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.

      Drone video showcases exterior of 1,000 Trees by Heatherwick Studio

      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.

      A Little Design maximises space in tiny 22-metre-square Taiwan apartment

      “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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      DooSooGoBang restaurant in South Korea references Buddhist practices

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      The ascetic lifestyle and diets of Korean Buddist monks influenced the interiors that Limtaehee Design Studio has created for DooSooGoBang restaurant in the city of Suwon, South Korea.DooSooGoBang, which is shortlisted in the restaurant interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards, is located east of Suwon in the district of Yeongtong-gu and serves Korean temple food.
      The cuisine originated 1,700 years ago in Korea’s early Buddhist temples and sees organic, seasonal meals prepared without the use of onions, garlic, chives, leeks and spring onions.

      The main dining hall of DooSooGoBang restaurant
      Monks and nuns typically avoid these five ingredients as they’re said to disrupt harmonious spiritual practice, instead relying on elements such as mushroom powders and fermented soybean pastes for flavour.

      These practices came to be a key point of reference for Limtaehee Design Studio, which wanted the interiors of the restaurant to evoke the same “humbleness” as a Korean Buddhist temple and the dishes developed there.

      A platform at the back of the room is used for traditional Korean-style dining, where guests sit on floor cushions
      The restaurant has been divided into three areas – the first is a spacious hall-style room which will act as the main dining room, finished with black-tile flooring and walls washed with pale grey plaster.
      Cabinets around the room openly display ceramic ornaments.

      Various Associates designs Voisin Organique restaurant to resemble a gloomy valley

      Towards the rear of the room is a platform where diners can eat seated on floor cushions, in traditional Korean style. Additional bench seats and wooden dining tables have also been scattered throughout the room.

      Shutters look through to the second dining area
      Wooden shutters lead through to the restaurant’s second area, which is meant to have a more intimate ambience.
      “Contrary to a rather public image of the main hall, this area offers a feeling that you are away from the city and meditating in a temple in the mountains,” explained the studio.
      The focal point of the room is the timber-inlaid dining table, which has a stream of water trickling down from its side into a rough stone bowl that sits on the floor.

      The room is arranged around a communal table inlaid with timber
      Diners must take off their shoes before entering the third area of the restaurant, which has been entirely lined in white hanji – a type of Korean paper handmade from the inner bark of a mulberry tree.
      Limtaehee Design Studio likens this area to a sarangbang, a room in a traditional Korean home sometimes used for leisure activities or to entertain visitors.
      “We prepared this room imagining [head chef] Jung Kwan sharing conversation with guests, or relaxing herself,” the studio added.

      The restaurant’s third dining area is lined with hanji paper
      Limtaehee Design Studio is based in Seoul. Its DooSooGoBang project will compete in this year’s Dezeen Awards against projects such as Tori Tori by Esware Studio, an eatery in Mexico that takes design cues from the armour of a samurai warrior.
      Also in the running is Voisin Organique by Various Associates, a restaurant in China with shadowy rooms and soaring ceilings intended to make diners feel like they’re wandering through a mountain valley.
      Photography is by Youngchae Park.

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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