Right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the Dongdaemun neighborhood, a historic area in central Seoul, known for its 24-hour shopping, proudly lays the Dongdaemun Design Park (DDP) by starchitect Zaha Hadid.
The DDP has become a dynamic cultural hub, in the center of the city, catering not only to the local creative minds, but also to a global community of designers, artists, explorers and like-minded thinkers.
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. – Zaha Hadid Architects
Hosting a variety of spaces for the public, such as exhibition halls, a design museum, design labs, an academy hall, a media center, seminar rooms, designer’s lounge, and a design market that is open 24/7, the Design Park serves as an incubator for people to share new ideas and explore innovative technologies and media. A wide variety of events, international conferences, fashion shows and exhibitions are often held in these spaces nourishing the cultural and creative environment. As if that is not enough, DDP is also a place where you can relax, shop around and even find venues for businesses.
The DDP merges seamlessly with the urban surrounding introducing a 30,000 sqm park into the densely built cityscape, creating a beautifully unique oasis of creativity, architectural splendor, and nature. The infamous organic shapes of Zaha Hadid Architects, create an architectural landscape that not only connects but also encourages interaction between the Park and the city.
The design is the very specific result of how the context, local culture, programmatic requirements and innovative engineering come together - allowing the architecture, city and landscape to combine in both form and spatial experience – creating a whole new civic space for the city. – Zaha Hadid Architects
Never seizing to impress us with their innovation and intriguing forms, Zaha Hadid Architects have truly created a sculptural beauty of a building! Soft voids and openings create framed images of the park and the city, giving you little opportunities to peek into DDP. At night, thanks to the unique perforated cladding, the building subtly shimmers within the bright city life of Seoul.
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 Modelling (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. – Zaha Hadid Architects
