Hanoi, Vietnam

Enlisted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Heerim Architects & Planners have designed and built the new Embassy of the Republic of Korea portraying the identity of the country using multiple elements of Korean traditional architecture combined with a contemporary architectural manner.

The new Embassy of the Republic of Korea building in Vietnam has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Under the concept of “Architecture, Embracing Scenery,” the project sought to embrace the spatial components of elegant lines, voids, courtyards, and the balance of Ying & Yang from Korean traditional architecture, to create a place that captures and diffuses light, breeze, and nature throughout the house.

There are 3 key factors considered essential in realizing the harmonious coexistence of traditional and modern architectural beauty of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam; first and foremost is its excellent design, secondly, the constant endeavors to reduce construction costs from the design stage to achieve the initial design intent on a fixed budget and lastly is about closer collaborative teamwork with the contractors which play a significant role in attaining the shared goal of excellent design and excellent building.

Stringent safety plans were established and managed from the design stage to prevent potential accidents on the site. In accordance with the relevant regulatory requirements of both Korea and Vietnam, safety managers and chief safety officers were allocated for each discipline in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Regular and special safety training was also conducted for all national and international workers on the site conforming to the relevant local regulations and procedures of Hanoi, Vietnam.

Regarding innovation and contribution to the industry/community, the most critical part of actualizing a building is the process of embodying the design ideas into a built form.

For the project, one of the challenges was in finding optimal technical approaches to truly reflect the design intent, especially in devising the intricate 3D curvilinear facade in its complete shape.

So instead of applying segmented panels which is the most general way of dealing with a curved facade, it was achieved through fabricating and assembling monolithic curvilinear walls to best incarnate the beautiful curves of “Cheoma”, the sloping eaves of traditional Korean architecture.

The elevation patterns were derived from the traditional Korean pattern “Soseul” while some of the walls are covered solid for spaces where the lighting is unneedful.

Considering such climatic characteristics, the skylight of the indoor courtyard inside the building is divided into 20 segments with a depth rather than a large single pane of glass, which allows delicate indirect lighting to reach throughout the courtyard while also securing improved maintenance efficiency.

As far as the construction quality & excellence in craft work are concerned, considering the unique attributes of traditional Korean fence, the architectural engineers were deployed from Korea to coordinate the job of local workers on the site.

Although it demanded a longer period to finish the work, it was a worthwhile process of establishing a traditional Korean fence in Hanoi with the best quality of collaboration works with local workers.

Upon winning its design competition in September 2015, the architect team performed 9 months of detailed design and had also been involved throughout 27 months of the construction period from the groundbreaking in May 2017 until the final completion in August 2019, to assure the design intent within the budget.

 According to the architects, the six main features of aesthetic and functional excellence consist of

1. The Beauty of Curvilinear Eaves Representing “the Lines of Traditional Korean Architecture” rather than simply adopting the elegant eave lines of traditional Korean architecture on the roof slopes, it is gently reflected over the façade surface to create a unique curvaceous massing volume.
2. The Art of Emptiness, a sense of openness seen in “Daecheong maru” (Korean traditional hall floor) that invites the natural scenery by emptying the interior space has been adopted in the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam. The flexible spatial plans have allowed the opening of windows and doors.
3. The Courtyard is positioned in the center and acts as the heart of the building that embraces a sense of place and diverse activities, while the indirect lighting from the top skylights exudes a relaxing and soothing ambiance to the interior.
4. The Harmony of Yin and Yang through Light is depicted in the exterior façade exhibiting a perfect balance of Yin and Yang inspired by the beautiful traditional patterns of Korean windows and doors which can be also experienced from the interior as the light penetrates and draw patterns throughout the space.
5. The Beauty of Symmetry A 1.2m wide and 7.2m tall large glasses in grid patterns are repeatedly aligned throughout the building envelope to emphasize the symmetrical beauty found in traditional Korean architecture. The viewing angles and the layout of the windows have been considered to enhance a sense of openness. As the result, it partly alleviated the enclosed look of the building volume.
6. Pushing and Pulling of Spaces by blending the concept of “Cheoma” (eaves) and “Maru” (hall floors) which were pushed and pulled within the space, created a buffer between the indoors and outdoors to evoke active communication with nature that harmoniously weaves the landscape into the everyday environment.

Project: Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam
Architects: Heerim Architects & Planners Co., Ltd.
General Contractor: SM Samwhan Corporation
Client: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea
Photographers: Wan Soon Par