Dongdaemun Design Plaza, futuristic landmark of Seoul

A view of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) located in eastern Seoul shows its parametric design with the exterior made of 45,133 aluminum panels of different patterns and sizes. / Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation

By Kim Jae-heun

There has been an age-long discussion over the most representative landmark of Korea. Some say the Gyeongbokgung Palace for its ancient beauty, while others argue for N Seoul Tower, soaring on top of Namsan. However, it is difficult to pinpoint a symbolic one like the Eiffel Tower for France, Tower Bridge for the United Kingdom or the Great Wall for China.

A two-year-old building in central Seoul eyes the No. 1 landmark position for Korea, overcoming the controversies regarding the neo-futuristic building.

Alessandro Mendini's "Amuleto" is shown in a recent exhibition by the Italian designer in the DDP.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) soon became the talk of the town once it opened in March 2014. The spaceship-like structure designed by top-notch Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid (1950-2016), plays a key role as the nation's fashion hub and a popular tourist destination. It has several spaces in different sizes and shapes for various events and provides a park on the roof with 25,550 white LED roses shining in the evening, a must-go-to spot for tourist photos.

However, the neo-futuristic building has not yet gained nationwide recognition or consensus as the country's No. 1 landmark due to its lack of historical value.

Alessandro Mendini's "100% Make Up" is on display at the DDP.

The DDP is a result of a major urban redevelopment project, built on the former Dongdaemun Stadium, a sports complex that existed from 1925 to 2008, before giving way to the multicultural space envisioned by former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in the mid-2000s.

Oh invested a total of 484 billion won ($413 million) for the project "Construction of the Dongdaemun Design Park" and invited Hadid to design the building with Samoo Architects & Engineers. Samsung Engineering & Construction took charge of building the unique building and the Seoul Design Foundation, run by direct endowment from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, managed the project.

French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier's "Odyssey" themed costumes are displayed at an exhibition in the DDP until June 30.

The official construction started in 2009 and was completed in late November 2013. The DDP features five facilities with 15 spaces with a total area of 86,574 square meters including three basement floors and four floors above ground reaching a height of 29 meters. The venue consists of an Art Hall, Learning Center, Design Lab, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park and Design Market. The opening hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. except for the Design Market which runs 24/7 offering public and retail spaces.

The DDP fulfills its motto "Dream, Design, Play" by pursuing innovative ideas, searching for new talent and striving to make life better for everyone.

A view of the park on the roof of the DDP, featuring some 25,500 LED manmade roses that light up in the evening.

Since opening, it has served as an arena for fashion industry events such as Seoul Fashion Week, Chanel's Cruise Collection last year and an exhibition of global fashion houses like Christian Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier.

"The Dongdaemun district has been traditionally localized as the country's biggest fashion market and Seoul established the DDP to play the role of strengthening and supporting the town's fashion business," said an official of Seoul Design Foundation.

"Globally renowned fashion moguls have visited DDP to hold fashion shows and exhibition, which makes the venue fashion hub of Korea."

"Andy Warhol Live," which featured some 400 works of the American pop artist, was held at the DDP in 2015.

The landmark also hopes to attract locals and tourists around the world and serve as a stepping stone to some 60 tourist attractions in the area such as the Dongdaemun Market and Cheonggye Stream.

The DDP offers unique architectural beauty by adopting an asymmetrical structure. It employs mega-trusses and a space frame that minimizes the use of columns and creates a gigantic space. Various individual spaces have been designed with gentle curves reminiscent of fluid flow.

The building is the world's largest irregular-shaped architectural structure based on a parametric design. The interior and exterior are finished with contoured panels. Most surprisingly, the exterior is made up of 45,133 aluminum panels in all different patterns and sizes.

The DDP is three times larger than a regular football field.

People view Andy Warhol's artworks at a DDP exhibition in 2015.

From nuisance to icon

When DDP first opened to the public, it received criticism as a neo-futuristic building that did not go well with the local buildings. It also required a considerable amount of budget from Seoul City to run the space which became burdensome to the local governing body. People called DDP "money-gobbling hippo" or "an emergency-landed spaceship in downtown."

However, only a year and five months after its official opening, the DDP attracted some 11.8 million visitors. As of October 2015, the accumulated number of visitors to the DDP exceeded 13.8 million. Nowadays, an average of 23,000 people visits the landmark. It was also the most Instagram tagged location in Korea in the year 2015.

In a New York Times report on Jan. 22, 2015, the media picked the DDP as one of the 52 must-go attractions in the world ― along with Milan in Italy, the Caribbean island of Cuba, Philadelphia and Singapore ― saying "the 900,000-square-foot, neo-futuristic, curvilinear exhibition space has helped transform the area around it into an international design hub."

The multi-purpose cultural complex has hosted over 110 events, including exhibitions, and motor and fashions shows this year alone.

Among ongoing events, the two most popular ones are the Jean Paul Gautier Exhibition and the Treasure of Kansong. The French haute couture maestro's exhibit showcases some 220 gorgeously crafted garments, stage costumes and sketches and photographs of his playful designs through June 30.

The traditional art exhibit features artwork by the greatest artists of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) including Kim Hong-do, Shin Yun-bok and Jang Seung-eop. The depiction of human characters in landscape paintings portray the historical realities of Korean's daily life back then, suggesting how scholars studied and monks pursued the spiritual life.

The landmark venue will also host its sixth Seoul Fashion Week event from Oct. 17 to 22. The runway show will feature the work of top local designers and attract over 1,000 international and domestic members of the press as well as 200 buyers from the local market and overseas.

For more information, visit www.ddp.or.kr.