K-Pop or South Korean music has garnered a huge fandom and stardom in the global music industry in recent years. The popularity of Korean Popular music (K-Pop) is held responsible for the contribution of $5 billion to the South Korean gross domestic product. These bands are topping the charts and being praised by fans from all over the world. Such bigger brands required a better central hub to produce music globally.
Catering to this requirement, YG entertainment – the lead producer of K-Pop approached UN Studio in 2017 to design the structure for their new headquarter in Seoul and the vision came to life in March 2022. The building houses office spaces, recording studios, and meeting rooms conceptualized taking inspiration from the music industry and business of YG Entertainment. The design aims to provide the finest work environment to the employees and take the benefits of the site location to their fullest. One can witness a trail of fans outside the building waiting with the hope of getting a glimpse of their favorites.
The Headquarter building of YG entertainment covering an area of 3145 sqm, sits on the border of two different worlds, a bustling network of highways and bridges on one side and low-density housing on the other end. The traits of both worlds have inspired the design by UN Studio and impacted the orientation and internal planning of the structure. The site overlooks a large green park and the positioning of spaces provides access to river views from the interiors.
The pre-existing building revolved around the black-in-black concept but the new structure of YG Entertainment has an opposite conceptual format. The dichotomy is visible in brightly lit spaces with light peeping in from the roof and surfaces finished with white color tones and geometric lines. The duality of surroundings governs the interior planning with interlocking sectional concepts. The interior is visually linked to the neighborhood through materials and geometry.
The ground floor atrium has a hidden garden welcoming visitors to the building and functioning as a living area. Capsule-like meeting rooms or resting rooms – function is governed by the will of the user, are positioned along the interior facade of the atrium. The meeting rooms create an impact of geometric artwork and the enclosed atriums weave a connection indoors to the users and the passersby.
UN Studio refers to the YG entertainment headquarters as a protective shell manifesting as an Urban speaker. It is built as a product that has every feature catering to a different function. The side facing the green park is fully glazed with the central area equipped with balconies. The open spaces provide the employees with a break space and sun shading to the lower floor levels. The roof and south-facing facade are equipped with BIPV solar cells.
The transitional spaces from glazed to opaque facades of YG Entertainment have semi-glazed zones and certain zones in the solid areas are highlighted using dynamic lines. One can catch a glimpse of inside activities through perforated patterns of aluminum and glass. UN Studio has designed the building to function simultaneously with day and night, the days are gleamy and bright with a cheerful work environment and nights illuminate the structure merging it with the city’s skyline.
Image Credits: UN Studio, Rohspace
