Shinsa Shell

Urban Chaos: The upscale but chaotic Shinsadong district in Seoul is home to many of the city’s trendiest boutiques and cafes, housed in hastily designed buildings pasted over with mismatched materials and signs. As a counterpoint to this tendency, Shinsa Shell was designed to create a place of refuge for both the eye and the body.

Resistance: Six stories tall, and 20,000 square feet in area, the building’s relatively monolithic form stands up to the many fragmented structures nearby, as well as the existing power pole and wires that were impossible to relocate. Clad in limestone and utilizing punched openings rather than large expanses of glass, its solid walls and reduced palette resists the colorful cacophony of its surroundings.

Accommodation: Subtle angles on the structure’s long side intensify the narrowness and intimacy of the adjacent side street. Following local daylighting codes, the building’s top two floors step back to assure adequate sunlight for the street below, as well as to create roof top terraces with views of the surrounding city.