Dunsan, Daejeon, South Korea

Located in downtown Dunsan-dong, CA Plan’s Urban Bloom for Hanwha Galleria Timeworld is a remodeling project of the Galleria Department Store, a landmark in Daejeon built in the 1990s right next to the central business district of Daejeon, which is surrounded by small and medium-scale buildings with gray stones built during the rapid industrialization period of South Korea.

Urban Bloom-Galleria Timeworld has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Dunsan-dong is the busiest downtown in Daejeon and a commercial center where many citizens visit. Therefore, the surrounding area is full of previously-built buildings and signboards which were rapidly developed. 

Daejeon Galleria Department Store has maintained its reputation as an iconic landmark of the area as well as representing Daejeon’s commercial district since its establishment in the 1990s.

In order to change this old-fashioned, gloomy atmosphere and also attract many people to the department store, conceptual and physical distinctness from surrounding buildings was needed, and it was defined as a “nature-inspired sculpture.”

The concept of the iconic department store, “Urban Bloom,” implies a formative concept of symbolic blooming flowers seeking evolution and recovery towards the natural scenery instead of artificial city exteriors. 

The features of 5,700 petals placed on the node of organic grids are algorithmically designed in different sizes and shapes. Indeed, the algorithm was planned based on the nature of spontaneous generation, which explains that a single unit of a flower has similarities, but every petal has different shapes and sizes.

The petal module generated by the algorithm was made of metal panels, with lights installed in the center of it, transforming the entire façade into a media display at night.

In order to minimize site construction, pre-fabricated modules per unit area were produced in the factory and applied the concept of OSC (Off-Site-Construction), which shortened the construction period and minimized environmental pollution.

Built with RGB LED modules installed with a spacing of approximately 1.5 meters, the media façade produces low-pitch images.

The 70-meter-high media façade features videos of urban residents passing by, big waves, snow flowers, and so on, creating a fantasy, dreamlike night view of Dunsan-dong, unexperienced before.

The post-Covid19 era has led to the development of the online industry enabling contactless communication, but paradoxically it also implies the importance of offline space and its value.

The offline space, where citizens can safely settle down and obtain new experiences and inspirations, will become more important in the future.

In that sense, the Urban Bloom – Galleria Timeworld project in Daejeon Galleria Department Store will contribute to revitalizing the city by creating a place for urban citizens to gather and entertain themselves.

Project: Urban Bloom-Galleria Timeworld
Architects: CA Plan Co., Ltd.
General Contractor: Exhibit Korea Inc.
Client: Hanwha Galleria Timeworld
Photographers: CA Plan Co., Ltd.