Dutch architects MVRDV have redesigned a 1980s building in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea. MVRDV has transformed the facade of an ageing mixed-use building into a stack of shop windows in Gangnam, the trendy district of Seoul described in the world-famous Korean pop song. The Chungha building contains a leather accessories store on its ground floor and the upper levels accommodate more private businesses, including a wedding planner and two plastic surgery practices, so its tenants had previously covered over the strip windows and created a messy-looking exterior.
For the renovation, MVRDV removed the beige stone cladding and original glazing and replaced them with a facade of 18 boxes, each with a glazed shop window across its face. Different boxes were handed over to the various tenants, who can either fill them with product displays or screen them using translucent posters. A new upper storey is set to open as a rooftop cafe with outdoor terraces.
