Concepts & Designs
(Source: Hong Sung Jun, courtesy of OMA)
THE GALLERIA
@ Gwanggyo, South Korea
D
utch architecture studio OMA has recently completed the Galleria department store in Gwanggyo, South Korea. The store is the sixth branch of Galleria, Korea’s first and largest upscale department store franchise founded in the 1970s, and has remained at the forefront of the premium retail market in the country since. Located at the center of this young urban development surrounded by tall residential towers, the Galleria department
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store has been designed to be a landmark for the area’s housing district. “The first time we came to Gwanggyo the entire city felt as one big temporary condition, missing any sense of permanence. That is why we conceived the project as a point of gravity for Gwanggyo – in the shape of a stone cube, as if it was the origin of the city,” explained OMA partner Chris van Duijn. The cube-shaped building is clad in tessellated triangles of stone. The mix of beige, brown and earthy colours is designed
