Oh, wait. No, it’s just the design for the new City Hall complex.
See also here:
The design is supposedly a modern reinterpretation of an iMac G3 Korean roof eave. Whatever. Some 30% of the new City Hall will be reserved for cultural space, including a multi-use hall and a sky lounge.
Personally, it wouldn’t look bad in some place like Samseong-dong, but in the heart of old Seoul? Bleh.
43 Comments
Eyesore.
I guess Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s new hall will be in that…. I hope that acoustics will be good
WTF!?
Fugly . . .
Tsunami!
Tsunami indeed… Teh wave, is gonna wash it all away…
I like it. Hallyu washing away the old, gray city.
A lot of modern architecture of this type generates negative comments when first presented, but over time comes to be appreciated.
I will say that I don’t appreciate the new Wangshimni station blocking the view from the building I work in, though. Bring back the mountain.
Anything of color is an improvement over the cement-dropped colorless buildings that this new building will shame into crumbling…
Well said, Maranag. First thing that popped into my head.
That’s fucking ugly. Would fit right in.
Well,
Considering it’s placement it’s ugly. I might consider it pretty if it was say an airport terminal instead of freak’in city hall.
Did someone perhaps get the renderings mixed up?
I’m speechless !
What the heck are those ugly white things - acoustic barriers?
Ugh, this is sickening. I actually thought some of the other designs for the new City Hall were quite good and “harmoniously” fit in with the original structure, but the final design that they chose - this - is extremely ugly. Why did they choose this?
I think the building itself isn’t so bad… it’s just that it looks SO out of place with the surroundings.
There’s so many areas that need improvement, why detract from one of the few aesthetically pleasing spots?
Maybe we need the old mayor of Seoul back, Lee Myeong Bak.
Now, come one. Am I the only one who sees it? It’s the ‘Korean Wave’ swallowing up Japan (symbolically represented by the colonial Japan era City Hall).
#15,
Mitterand’s glass pyramid at the Louvre doesn’t look so bad anymore.
It’s out of place. What happened to the previous concept? It blended with the original structure much better, IMO.
Also, what’s up with putting grass in right up to the steps of the original structure? It makes the place look less developed, not more natural, and I certainly wouldn’t want to go there when it rains. For both practicality and aesthetics, walkways in front of the building are definitely needed.
Wow. Hardly a single comment in defense of the design. I think the design itself is quite nice. It is not congruent with the existing structure, however (I’m not at all worried about the buildings around it).
This country needs to improve its architecture in painfully obvious ways. Seoul City Hall should be applauded for taking the lead.
If they can manage to keep the glass clean, this is much more Sparkling (TM) than most other structures nation-wide.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to go there when it rains.”
I’m sure the architects thought of that. But, I wonder how they would deal with an unexpected blizzard. The accumulated snow suddenly sliding off the rooftop could most certainly kill someone.
the yellow dust is licking its lips
someguy is right. That’s exactly what it is.
Yet again,
I blame Japan.
Mr. K, you might make a lot of money one day with your Japanese colonial era building photos.
It seems Koreans can’t wait to tear down every building built originally by the Japanese.
Kind of over doing, in my opinion.
I was once inside the Joseon Chong Dok Bu, when it was Joong Ang museum.
大日本 engraved on land, viewed from the sky, they claim.
Probably they did. Those fuckers.
that area of town is already full of architecture from many different areas, as Mr. K. has pointed out in some of his pics before. Everyone will get used to it.
Personally I think they should have torn down the old city hall and plunked something interesting in its place. #16: Korean wave swallowing Japan? I though the same…Pretty funny stuff all in all, if they were going to get that blatant with their symbolism, why didn’t they, as I said, just knock the old place down to start with?
If they were to tear down the old city hall, this might make some sense but it is very strange looking. I would not mention mention the “glass pyramid” at the Louvre as a comparison because that works, this does not. Secondly, as “H&D” points out, I wonder how this material would resist the onslaught of yellow sand; would it get grimy or not?
Heh.
I certainly appreciate the positive effect it will continue to have on property prices in Seongdong-gu, which enjoyed the highest rate of appreciation in Seoul last year.
… and have one nice building instead of two ugly ones ~.*
Once this giant glass tsunami is up and threatening to engulf City Hall, the spaceship landing pad near Jonggak won’t be ugliest building in downtown Seoul anymore.
Because Seoul has so much of its 근대문화유산 still intact, who would miss it, right?
The Hani raised many of the same issue when the Post Tower went up in Myeongdong:
http://www.hani.co.kr/section-.....77013.html
Obviously the purpose of such a City Hall design was to remind those working within to refrain from hypocrisy, glass house and all.
The design is fine. I just don’t like it being off center from the City Hall.
It seems that curvy glass covered structures seems to be the latest fad among bureacrats in Korea. IMO, the design is unique to say the least but it obviously doesn’t fit its surrounding environment which is its biggest problem. Anyway according to the morning news on MBC, there is a possibility that this design will go out the window.
Also, I have noticed that some drawings show the City Hall with its original dome(pyramid?) replaced with a glass pyramid. It’s bad enough to see this “blob”, but does the Seoul Government have to destroy part of a historic building and replace that part with a glass pyramid?
“I would not mention mention the “glass pyramid” at the Louvre as a comparison because that works, this does not. ”
Whether the glass pyramid works or not is debatable.
“I just don’t like it being off center from the City Hall.”
Yeah, having it centered properly would certainly help the aesthetics of the plan. It might even make for some very interesting pictures in the right light.
Has anyone seen the Eunpyeong Water Works Building buried behind all the apartment buildings near Hongje Station? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Anyway, I think something like that, with its traditional Korean-style roof, would be a much better idea than the ugly crap seen above.
They even have a blog. Click on the picture to enlarge the image.
Gulp. Seoul’s very own ice sculpture. Canada would warmly welcome that giant icy tongue to its Winterlude fest. Chisel up everyone!
Tsunami? More like Tschumi! (ahh, architecture humor…)
#33
The Pyramides at the Louvre don’t loom over any historic buildings like a clumsy misplaced behemoth, but rather are more like sculptures, a great entry to the sculptures within the Louvre, and also a perfect transition to the modern architecture underneath. Although I have to say I prefer Mitterand’s “legacy,” La Defense.
At least it doesn’t block the view from the FCC too much.
#38,
I’ve seen it up close…As I was saying, some would call it an eyesore.
Looks more like the infamous ‘Korean wave’ in building form!
By the way, I don’t know about Korean law, but in the US, developpers must also buy air rights when constructing buildings. Looks like the Korean Wave building may have had to buy rights from the City Hall building.
There’s no concept in Korea of air rights, in the sense to which you refer, that enables one owner in effect to sell off a portion of his “property” to a neighbor. The government simply sets height limits (and setbacks, etc.) and then - this is Korea - changes them in favor of whomever proffers the fattest white envelope.
2 Trackbacks
[...] Koehler from Marmot's Hole posts the new design of city hall complex in the heart of Seoul city. time savedwww.globalvoicesonline.org Share [...]
[...] The Marmot, where I originally got this, compares the design to “the blob” and secondly to a “iMac G3.” You can really appreciate the latter idea in this next photo: [...]