Suwon, Korea
Chris van Duijn of OMA and his design team together with the local Korean architecture firm Gansam created a quirky golden-brown stone and glass structure for Galleria Department Store in the city of Gwanggyo, just 40 minutes south of Seoul.
The new department store won a recent prestigious 2021 International Architecture Award from The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
The Gwanggyo store is the sixth and largest branch of the luxury department store franchise owned by Hanwha.
Located at the center of this young urban development surrounded by tall residential towers, the Galleria’s stone-like appearance makes it a natural point of gravity for public life in Gwanggyo.
The store is located between the Suwon Gwanggyo Lake Park and ubiquitous buildings in the city: an intersection between nature and the urban environment.
The building had been the sensation of the town since its completion due to its eye-popping design.
The textured mosaic stone façade has trails of rugged glass protruding from it, in stark contrast with the opacity of the stone.
As if a sculpted stone is emerging from the ground, the architecture evokes nature—from the
neighbouring Suwon Gwanggyo Lake Park.
The sculpted stone building is a also visual anchor in the city.
A public route is excavated from the stone volume and connects the public sidewalk to a roof garden— including both retail and cultural activities.
It introduces an innovative element to the traditional typology of a department store.
The public route has a multifaceted glass façade that contrasts with the opacity of the stone.
Through the glass, retail and cultural activities inside are revealed to the city’s passers-by, while visitors in the interior acquire new vantage points to experience Gwanggyo.
Formed with a sequence of cascading terraces, the public loop offers spaces for exhibitions and
performances.
“With a public loop deliberately designed for cultural offerings, Galleria in Gwanggyo is a place where visitors engage with architecture and culture as they shop.
They leave with a unique retail experience blended with pleasant surprises after each visit,” says OMA partner van Duijn.
What distinguishes the building from other department stores is that the Galleria Gwanggyo is the first department store in Korea to allow light to enter the building from all corners through the “Public Loop.”
This new attempt by OMA is revolutionary in that sense, as it has masterfully incorporated light as a mechanism to bring joy and entertainment, and in turn, tempting customers to linger longer.
Project: Galleria in Gwanggyo
Architects: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)
Partner In Charge: Chris van Duijn
Associate: Ravi Kamisetti
Project Leader: Patrizia Zobernig
Design Project Team (Concept Phase): Mark Bavoso, Alan Lau, James Lee, Slobodan Radoman, Tianyu Su, and John Thurtle
Schematic Design Team: Mark Bavoso, James Lee, and John Thurtle
Design Development Team: Ikki Kondo, James Lee, Daan Ooievaar, Slobodan Radoman, and John Thurtle
Interior Design Team: Nils Axen, Simon Bastien, Tommaso Bernabo, Minjung Cho, Felicia Gambino, Nicola Ho, Meng Huang, Zhenke Jin, Richard Leung, Ioana Pricop, Junsik Oh, and Calvin Yue
Executive Architect: Gansam
General Contractor: Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp.
Client: Hanwha
Photographers: Hong Sung Jun
