韩国首尔YG娱乐总部 | UNStudio-卓美

Headquarters YG Entertainment

Seoul, South Korea, 2017-2021

The South Korean music scene, otherwise known as K-Pop, is currently making huge strides in the global music industry. Popular with fans from Asia to the Americas, South Korean bands are currently topping the charts and selling-out stadiums. With its fingers on the cultural pulse and a social-media-savvy fandom, K-pop is currently taking the world by storm.

In 2017, UNStudio was invited by YG Entertainment, the lead producers of K-Pop, to design their brand new headquarter building in Seoul. Since the building’s completion, it has become a pilgrimage for fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols.

YG Entertainment’s business and the music industry as a whole inspired UNStudio’s design for this new headquarter building, which houses office spaces, meeting rooms and recording studios. Strategically organised, these spaces take full advantage of the location and to provide YG Entertainment’s employees with the most uplifting and inspiring work environment possible.

Urban Speaker

The protective shell of the building manifests as a new ‘urban speaker’. It is designed to be more reminiscent of a product than a building; one in which every design feature has a performative function.
Fully glazed areas are located towards the park and the central zone on this side of the building is equipped with balconies. These enable outside spaces for the users during work-breaks, while also providing sun shading for the levels below. BIPV solar cells are also integrated in the south-facing facade and on the roof.
Semi-glazed zones are allocated in the transition towards the fully opaque facade. In some of these solid areas, especially those located towards the housing area, dynamic lines are used to highlight certain zones, while a perforation pattern and alternation of aluminium panels and glass provide a glimpse of the functions and activities inside the building.
During the day, the ‘urban speaker’ is designed to provide the best possible working environment for its employees from the inside out, whilst at night this workplace begins to glow and become an identifiable part of the city’s skyline.