Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza Walktour | South Korea

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP; Korean: 동대문 디자인 플라자) is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea, designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo, with a distinctively neofuturistic design characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of elongated structures." The landmark is the centerpiece of South Korea's fashion hub and popular tourist destination, Dongdaemun, featuring a walkable park on its roofs, large global exhibition spaces, futuristic retail stores, and restored parts of the Seoul fortress.
The DDP has been one of the main reasons for Seoul's designation as the World Design Capital in 2010. Construction started in 2009, and it was officially inaugurated on March 21, 2014. It is physically connected to Seoul Subway via Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station on Line 2, 4, and 5.
The Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) was designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, winner of the 2004 Pritzker Prize, with the concept of "Metonymic Landscape." Metonymy refers to a method of describing a specific object indirectly, and Hadid integrated historical, cultural, urban, social, and economic aspects of Seoul deduced from this method in order to create a scene of the landscape. Designed as a cultural hub in the historical district of Seoul, Korea's largest fashion district, the DDP is composed of undulating surfaces that resemble the flow of liquid and allow flexibility in space. The state-of-the-art BIM (Building Information Modeling), mega-truss (extra-large roof truss) system, and space frame system are the key features in terms of creating grand-scale spaces. According to Hadid, the fundamental features of her design were "transparency, porousness, and durability." Many ecological features, including a double-skin facade, solar panels, and a water recycling system, are included in the building.
The construction project for replacing Dongdaemun Stadium with a public park has been discussed in the media since 2000, and the city of Seoul established a basic master plan for alternating the function of Dongdaemun Stadium in 2005. Upon the advice of architects, and in order to secure a high-quality design for the new landmark of Seoul, the city invited architects in February 2007 to participate in a design competition. The city requested that the architects include a design plaza, underground spaces, a history park, and a culture park in the project, according to the guidelines. Zaha Hadid's Metonymic Landscape won the competition.
Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza Walktour | South Korea
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