Acclaimed global architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron was recently announced by the City of Seoul, as the winner of the Seoripul Open Storage competition, which was organised by the Seoul Metropolitan government. The contest garnered entries from seven architectural firms and a panel of expert judges, with roughly 850 citizens attending the final presentations.

The winning proposal is anticipated to commence construction in 2025 and promises an institutional programme housing artworks and artefacts of three major museums in Seoul, South Korea: the Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the Seoul Museum of History, and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art. In tandem with its role as an arts storage facility, the drawing board project “aspires to be a dynamic civic space for Seoul residents and global visitors,” promises the international architectural practice based in Basel, Switzerland.

Planned to take shape on an untouched site at the Eastern Border of Seoripul Park, the cube-shaped cultural architecture will be realised adjacent to the Seoripul Performance Art Center, “collectively enhancing Seocho-Dong’s identity beyond its current role as a judicial and educational district on Seoul’s cultural map,” mentions the Swiss studio’s press statement.

Set to become a prominent landmark building visible from Seocho Road, the proposal exhibits a dynamic, pyramidal glass structure crowning mineral blocks, encircled by a carefully delineated garden that takes on dual roles of a secluded outdoor space for those visiting the Archive/ Museum, as well as an entry point catering to pedestrians arriving at the Seoripul Park. Seoripul Open Art Storage is also propositioning a fresh walking path from the garden’s northeastern corner, to connect the museum architecture to the existing pathway system within the park. As the firm explains, “This strategic placement positions the Seoripul Open Art Storage not merely as a repository for cultural and historical artefacts, but also as a harmonious integration of nature, culture, and urban life.”

“What is an open storage? Or better, what is not open storage? Open storage is not a museum, not a shopping mall, [or] a fun palace, where there is a mass movement of people. It is a different kind of institution and therefore, also needs a different kind of architecture,” elaborates Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Swiss architect and co-founder of Herzog & de Meuron, Jacques Herzog.

An open storage is a place where knowledge and culture exist in a very condensed form. Rather than fully expose everything like cigars in a humidor or trophy wines in a liquor store, they are places which should be enigmatic, mysterious, and raise curiosity. – Jacques Herzog, co-founder, Herzog & de Meuron

The soon-to-be realised Korean architecture assembles architectural elements that spotlight specific programmes, coming alive as a terraced garden with mineral blocks to house functions of a café, a library design, art delivery, and art handling. These blocks will serve as pedestals providing support for the pyramidal glazed volume designated for the archive. Segmented at the crown, the glass envelope will house the art preservation workshops in its upper section, while the administration and the restaurant will be situated within the gap formed between the two clearly defined building volumes.

The Garden: assembling the elements

Drawing from traditional Korean garden principles, the Garden will unfold as an encapsulation of elements, those of the forest, Earth, water and diorama, to interact in abundance with the museum design, and expel immersive experiences that merge the interior and exterior spaces seamlessly. The pedestal mineral blocks inside will strategically frame vistas of various ‘borrowed landscapes,’ depending on the orientation of visitors.

In the allocated masterplan, ‘excavation’ was deemed a required intervention within the existing topography. “Based on this directive, the new terrain is transformed into a terraced landscape. The new building areas, specifically the four pedestal blocks below the current topography, are conceived as mineral volumes, aiming to maximise gneiss rock reuse from the excavation,” the studio explains.

These blocks will ascertain and accommodate specified programmes in the landmark architecture: the northeastern volume next to the main entrance will accommodate the lobby, shop, and library, while the southeastern one will feature a small cafe design opening to both, the garden, and the street corner. Onward, the rear section will be integrated with elevators, a fire escape staircase, and a fireman’s lift. The northwestern volume will cater to spaces managing art delivery, while the southwestern one at the perimeter will factor in the elevator exclusively designated for artworks. The building’s inner part, towards its centre, will host allocated spaces for a second staircase mandated by law.

The special exhibition space programme will be added between the volumes on the ground and basement level, becoming a platform for curated archive artefacts exhibitions, and will connected through vertical circulation routes on the south, comprising fire escape staircase designs as well as elevators. Furthermore, another open connection will be instigated by an irregularly stepped auditorium, which, on daily use, may remain open towards the entrance level.

A programme-heavy Archive Block

Pronounced by its pyramidal base envelope, the Archive Block will be adjusted on each side utilising ‘subtractive measures,’ to distinguish the volume for specific orientations. Towards the east, which features the main entrance, a projection will be incorporated to form a sheltered canopy for the ground floor entry. In tandem, this will incorporate window slits on the perpendicular short walls in the archive levels, enabling a visual connection from the archives towards the garden and Myeongdal Road, in tandem with integrated cutouts channelling natural light as well as creating framed views that establish visual connections.

This block will be housing the archived collections, from Level 2 to Level 5. According to the design team, the artefacts will be organised not by museum but by material, and consequently, by their required climatic conditions. Stacked upon each other will be four climatic zones within this block: The first level of the block (Level 2) will dedicate itself to Composite Materials and large-scale art objects, while Level 3 will be designated for earthenware, metal works, glass and jade, as well as stone works. Woodworks, paper works, calligraphy, and ivory/ bone works will be reserved for the fourth level, as the fifth level will host textile paintings and media arts.

The vertical circulation for visitors, art handling, as well as technical systems will be concentrated in a ‘functional spine’ on the building’s south side, permitting the rest of the floorplate to remain open and flexible. This also ensures that evolving, fresher curatorial concepts can be accommodated, along with various other concepts and implementations of visitor accessibility.

The Eye, the Gap, and the Crown

Striking visual connections between the ground floor and the different archival levels is the cone-shaped void created within the archival volume. This glazed cone will be equipped with display cases facing the archive areas, presenting artefacts embodying the essence of the art exhibitions and the archive collections.  

On level six, the pyramidal glass block will be divided visually, resulting in panoramic views in and across all directions for the administration section and the restaurant. The archive's administration offices will be further demarcated into the west and east wings, with a public restaurant design occupying the central space in between. A long atrium here will work towards aiding visual networks from the restaurant to the level of art conservation above, revealing a spatial program to visitors often concealed in conventional archives.

The glazing will be set back from the perimeter of the project’s pyramidal envelope, creating a continuous terrace outward. The span of this terrace will vary based on the function it serves, resulting in expansive outdoor areas, “especially for the restaurant, facing north with views towards the Seoripul Park, with the Han River and the historical centre behind,” mentions the press statement.

Once complete, the contemporary architecture will conclude on the seventh floor, with a Block extending the geometry of the pyramidal volume through its edges—this section is set to host the entire conservation programme, positioned at the perimeter. The centre around the downward-open atrium will remain as an open collective workspace, where a shed window is planned in the central section of this volume, to illuminate these working areas, along with a continuous band window which will span the building’s entire width.

An objective of carbon neutrality

The cultural building and its urban spaces will also be driven strongly by sustainability factors, an overarching ambition to achieve carbon neutrality: Herzog & de Meuron promises to carefully assess carbon emissions (both operational and embodied carbon aspects) in the construction of the Seoripul Open Art Storage.

Its sustainable architecture and design strategies will revolve around five key impact areas, all aimed at realising carbon neutrality within a 50-year lifespan: The optimised structure will look at significantly reducing concrete usage while prioritising high recycled content concrete; Energy consumption will be lessened via passive strategies such as limited window openings, a well-insulated structure to mitigate energy losses, as well as efficient systems; By integrating a geothermal heat pump linked to geothermal boreholes, low-carbon heating and cooling will be ensured, and distributed throughout the building.

“This addition establishes the building’s energy supply reliant solely on local and renewable sources… Considering the building’s 50-year lifespan, the emissions avoided by the integrated photovoltaic system on the roof and facade exceed the emissions produced during the building’s construction and operation. This achievement results in achieving carbon neutrality,” they inform. Additionally, photovoltaic elements will be installed on the building’s roof as well as its zigzag façades, generating electricity which will be directly consumed for operations. Rainwater from the roof and waterproof surfaces will be collected and stored in a tank, to be utilised as an alternative to potable water for toilet flushes and indoor cleaning.

"Our concept is rooted in a clear understanding of the typology of an art storage building, learning from the Schaulager in Basel. This project stands as evidence of our strong track record and expertise in art and public spaces, marking another milestone for our growing presence in South Korea,” the studio affirms.

Project Details

Name: Seoripul Open Art Storage
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Area: 5,800 sqm (site area); 19,500 sqm (gross floor area)
Architect: Herzog & de Meuron (Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Santiago Espitia Berndt (Partner in Charge), Martin Knüsel)
Design team: Enrique Peláez (Project Director), Thorben Bazlen (Project Architect), Jackie Bae, Benedict Choquard, João Conceição, Sukjoo Hong, Inmo Kang, Jeremy Kim, Liane Yue Liang, Jan Macbean, Chris Noh, Aida Ramirez Marrujo, André Vergueiro
Design Consultant : Herzog & de Meuron Global Ltd, Switzerland, Basel
Landscape Design: Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten AG, Zürich, Switzerland
Structural Engineering: Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure AG, Basel, Switzerland
Sustainability Engineering: Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany
Museum Advisory: Peter Wilson
Curatorial Advisory: Laurencina Farrant