This workplace block for a cosmetics business in South Korea’s capital was developed by architect Dongjin Kim as a cone-shaped volume, to ensure surrounding buildings nonetheless get adequate daylight and privacy.
Kim and his studio L’EAU Style Company tapered the office block on two sides to comply with nearby laws, which dictated the scale of the creating, its distance from the street, and the appropriate of adjacent buildings to privacy and light.
It is a tactic that has been utilized on office towers in numerous different cities – notably on Rogers Stirk Harbour’s so-named Cheesegrater in London, which angles back to respect views of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Named Tropism of Wildflower, the Seoul building takes inspiration from the biological phenomenon of phototropism in plants, whereby they flip in response to the sun.
“The function of the layout is to respect the mutual territory of surrounding buildings,” the architects advised Dezeen.
“Every single has a right to enjoy sunlight and privacy. It is similar to the coexistence and symbiosis of sunflowers, which turn the very same way to get sunlight.”
The creating occupies a 99-square-metre footprint. It accommodates a basement and six storeys, which get progressively far more personal as they taper in.
The very first floor has a showroom, even though the ranges over contains offices, and the smallest floor at the top is occupied by the firm directors.
A simple layout will allow the office to adapt to a assortment of functions in the potential. The architects felt this was crucial, since the building is situated in an spot characterised by multi-use blocks, in which shops, offices and apartments are housed in one particular construction.
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“Following the company grows and moves, they want the workplace to be employed as a commercial creating for lease,” the crew advised Dezeen. “They hope it can accommodate numerous uses, with the versatility to accept any programme.”
A slab-wall construction eliminated the want for columns inside, so every floor’s layout can be rearranged as required.
The cladding has been made as a patchwork of removable panels, which can be changed as the building evolves. These panels are made from a assortment of supplies which includes glass, polycarbonate, copper plate and punched-steel plate.
“We tried to design the exterior skin to react to modifying programmes, no matter whether it be an office, cafe, store or residence,” mentioned the architects. “It is not a fixed component.”
Roof lights were added to bring light into the building’s much more enclosed spaces, and stairs had been arranged subsequent to a triple-height segment of glazing to enable much more light to pass in between the floors.
“We developed the stairs as a transparent space, so that each floor feels adequate openness,” added the architects, who finished development for the developing in 6 months.
“It is also attainable to swap external panels for glazing in the future, in order to make the creating far more transparent,” they extra.
“Just as factors of nature expand and evolve, adapting themselves to numerous environments, we hope this developing adapts flexibly in the jungle of the modern day city.”
The dense urban surroundings and strict developing laws in Seoul have prompted a range of responses from architects. Examples include a housing block with a tapering roof and very carefully positioned windows and balconies, and an office block with a bowed concrete facade to accommodate a lot more floorspace.
Photography is by Park Wan-soon.
Project credits:
Architects: Dongjin Kim. L’EAU Style Firm
Layout group: Sanghak Lee, Teayeon Kim, Jueun Park, Sowon Beak
Building: E-ECO Construction
Floor programs 
Elevations Dezeen
