Dongdaemun Design Plaza
동대문디자인플라자 (DDP)
Design hub, exhibitions · Zaha Hadid Architects · 2014 · Jung-gu
Address: 서울 중구 을지로 281
Nearest subway: Dongdaemun History & Culture Park station
A building with almost no straight lines. Its silver skin wraps exhibition halls, a design museum and walkable roof gardens, on the site of the old Dongdaemun Stadium (1925–2007).
What to notice
- The skin: 45,133 aluminium panels, each a different shape or curve.
- The History & Culture Park beside it shows excavated remains of Seoul's old city wall.
- Come after dark, when the facade lights up and the surrounding markets stay open late.
Background
Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea, designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo, with a distinctively neofuturistic design characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of elongated structures." The landmark is the centerpiece of South Korea's fashion hub and popular tourist destination, Dongdaemun, featuring a walkable park on its roofs, large global exhibition spaces, futuristic retail stores, and restored parts of the Seoul fortress.
The DDP has been one of the main reasons for Seoul's designation as the World Design Capital in 2010. Construction started in 2009, and it was officially inaugurated on 21 March 2014. It is physically connected to Seoul Subway via Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station on Line 2, 4, and 5.
From Wikipedia: Dongdaemun Design Plaza, opening section, lightly shortened. CC BY-SA 4.0
Architect: Zaha Hadid