Dutch architecture firm UNStudio completed Hanwha headquarters building renovation in Seoul, world's market leader in solar panels. The building was modernised to meet the most up to date sustainability requirements.

Located on the Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, in 2013 the 57,696m² headquarter building was seen to no longer reflect Hanwha as one of the leading environmental technology providers in the world, and was launched an international competition.

UNStudio won the competition to retrofit the headquarters for the Hanwha Group teamed with engineers Arup (sustainability and facade consultant) and Loos van Vliet (landscape designer). Following the selection of the competition design, agLicht joined as lighting consultant.
The Hanwha Group wanted a more sustainable office to better reflect its position as the world's third largest producer of solar panels.

UNStudio designed the new headquarters basing on environmental considerations, following a conscious decision was made to remodel the existing building, rather than for demolition and new build.

The result of this ‘remodelling in place' is a building with a healthy indoor climate, an extremely flexible programme and a completely new, energy-generating facade with integrated solar panels.

The renovation of the Hanwha office tower lead them to remodel the facade, the interior of the common spaces, lobbies, meeting levels, auditorium and executive areas, along with the redesign of the landscaping.

“By means of a reductive, integrated gesture, the facade design for the Hanwha HQ implements fully inclusive systems which significantly impact the interior climate of the building, improve user comfort and ensure high levels of sustainability and affordability.

Through fully integrated design strategies today’s facades can provide responsive and performative envelopes that both contextually and conceptually react to their local surroundings, whilst simultaneously determining interior conditions.”
Ben van Berkel

UNStudio remodelled the building while it was still occupied.
 

Project description by UNStudio

The renovation of the Hanwha HQ office tower in Seoul is guided by its surroundings, influenced by nature and driven by the environment. The renovation incorporates a remodeling of the facade, the interior of the common spaces, lobbies, meeting levels, auditorium and executive areas, along with the redesign of the landscaping. Improving social well-being was at the crux of our design, as it is considered fundamental for enhanced creativity and concentration among employees. The most significant influence in the improvement of social well-being is the indoor environment - primarily in order to enhance physical comfort.

In order to improve the indoor environment, we developed an integrated responsive facade concept which improves the indoor climate of the existing building and reacts to both the programme distribution and the location. The existing facade consisted of horizontal bands of opaque panelling and single layers of dark glass. In the remodelling, this is replaced by clear insulated glass and aluminium framing to accentuate views and daylight. The geometry (pattern, size and reveal) of the framing is further defined by the sun and orientation factors to ensure user comfort inside and reduced energy consumption.

In the design for the Hanwha headquarter building the North facade opens to enable day lighting within the building, but becomes more opaque on the South facade, where the sun would otherwise have too much impact on the heat load of the building. Openings within the facade are further related to the views: opening up where views are possible, but becoming more compact on the side adjacent to the nearby buildings.

Facade Expression

The basis for the architectural expression of the Hanwha HQ facade is to achieve variety, irregularity and intricacy throughout. We brought this to life within the facade by varying the placement of the facade panels in a simple fashion that reacts to the programme, creating programme-related openings. Variations in programme, such as the restaurant, the executive rooms, the sky gardens, the seminar spaces are all expressed in the facade.

Direct solar impact on the building is reduced by shading, created by angling the glazing away from direct sunlight, while the upper portion of the South facade is angled to receive direct sunlight. The window to wall ratio achieves 55% transparency across the entire facade, while PV cells are placed on the opaque panels on the South / Southeast facade to take in the most amount of direct sunlight possible. Further PV panels are angled at strategic spots of the facade where energy from the sun can best be harvested.

Interior Concept

Our goal in designing the collective spaces inside the Hanwha HQ is to bring different departments together, offering employees informal meeting spaces that have high spatial and material qualities.

In our concept for the Hanwha HQ lobby, the landscape continues into the interior and acts as a guiding aid, with an increase floor to ceiling height and natural materials and plants that provide a calming environment for visitors. A subtle colour scheme is combined with wooden furnishing and, in both the North and the South entrance lobbies, a coffee corner creates a sociable atmosphere. Intuitive design elements guide users through to the lift lobbies, with integrated lighting seamlessly connects the common areas and hallways at all office levels. These wayfinding strategies continue through to the meeting rooms and work spaces, creating working environments with differing degrees of transparency, creating a balance between privacy with natural lighting.  This linkage between lift lobbies and the common reception areas and hallways creates a common identity at the different levels, yet enables flexibility in the work spaces and the allocation of different type/sizes of offices, both now and for the future.

Alongside flexible meeting rooms we have also designed a multi-purpose auditorium with acoustic wall cladding. Through animated lighting, the atmosphere of this space can be adjusted for different events with more corporate or more festive touches. The 28th floor restaurant is designed with wood tones, natural materials and green planting to create spaces where the employees of the headquarters building can recharge. Colour accents found in the textiles and furniture differentiate zones with the restaurant that cater to different types of cuisines.

Read more
Read less

More information

Label
Architects
Text
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Project team
Text
Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber with Ger Gijzen, Marc Salemink, Sontaya Bluangtook and Martin Zangerl, Hyoseon Park, Gabriele Decandia, Andrea Wong, Daniele de Benedictis, Luke Tan, Jooyoun Yoon, Nina Soltani, Albert Gnodde, Shuang Zhang, Yi-Ju Tseng, Alberto Martinez, Philip Knauf.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Collaborators
Text
Local consultant and executive architect.- Gansam Partners. Landscape consultant and designer.- Loos van Vliet. Haarlem
Facade and sustainability consultant.- ARUP. Lighting consultant interior and facade.- AG Licht.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Client
Text
Hanwha Group
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Area
Text
Building surface.- 57,696 m² above ground. Building site.- 15,333 m² shared plot.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Measurements
Text
Building volume.- 250,174 m³. Height.- 125.5 m / 412 ft. Height.- Occupied 117.7 m / 386 ft. Floors Above Ground.- 31.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Dates
Text
Proposed.- 2013. Construction Start.- 2016. Completed December 2019.
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.
Label
Photograph
Text
+ + copy Created with Sketch.
- + copy Created with Sketch.

UNStudio, founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, is a Dutch architectural design studio specialising in architecture, interior architecture, product design, urban development and infrastructural projects. The name, UNStudio, stands for United Network Studio referring to the collaborative nature of the practice.

Throughout 30 years of international project experience, UNStudio has continually expanded its capabilities through prolonged collaboration with an extended network of international consultants, partners, and advisors across the globe. This network, combined with the centrally located offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt, enables UNStudio to work efficiently anywhere in the world. With already 120 built projects in Asia, Europe, and North America, the studio continues to expand its global presence with recent commissions in among others China, South-Korea, Qatar, Germany and the UK.

As a network practice, a highly flexible methodological approach has been developed which incorporates parametric designing and collaborations with leading specialists in other disciplines. The office has worked internationally since its inception and has produced a wide range of work ranging from public buildings, infrastructure, offices, residential, products, to urban masterplans.

Current projects include the design for Doha's Integrated Metro Network in Qatar, the mixed-use FOUR development in Frankfurt, the wasl Tower in Dubai and the Southbank by Beulah development in Melbourne. Pivotal realised projects include the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Arnhem Central Station, Raffles City Hangzhou in China, the Mobius House in the Netherlands and the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. UNStudio has received many awards, the last ones being Red Dot Award product design (2013), Media Architecture Award (2012), National Steel Prize (2012) and 28th International Lighting Design Awards Collector’s Loft (2012).

Read more
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...