UNStudio unveils its recently completed design for the Headquarters of YG Entertainment in Seoul, where K-pop fans have a chance to catch a glimpse of their latest idols.
The South Korean music scene, otherwise known as K-Pop, is currently making huge strides in the global music industry. Popular with fans from Asia to the Americas, South Korean bands are currently topping the charts and selling-out stadiums. With its fingers on the cultural pulse and a social-media-savvy fandom, K-pop is currently taking the world by storm.
UNStudio’s design for Headquarters YG Entertainment in Seoul captures the industrious spirit of this production house’s business and the music industry as a whole. The new building is home to office spaces, meeting rooms and recording studios, all of which are strategically organised to take full advantage of the location and to provide YG Entertainment’s employees with the most uplifting and inspiring work environment possible.
UNStudio’s design manifests an urban speaker to reflect this connection to music. The HQ is more reminiscent of a product than a building, with every feature of the design having a performative function. This speaker concept highlights UNStudio’s aim of providing the best possible working environment for all, from up-and-coming K-Pop stars and producers alike.
Situated next to its architectural sibling, the well-known existing YG Building, the new HQ aligns in height, floors and functionality, while creating a new impulse for this location and an organisation that is enabled by its unique positioning between city and park.
Moving inwards, this HQ takes an opposite approach to the ‘black in black’ concept in the existing YG Building, introducing instead a brightly lit space with a range of white tones and geometric lines. Visual coherence in materials and geometry creates a unique interior experience that is visually linked to the exterior street level, while the roof floods the central atrium space with daylight.
To emphasise collaboration and interactions, meeting and collaboration spaces on the first four floors face an interior atrium, which serves as a collective space in the heart of the building. This area acts as a central stage for the lower level offices and the recording studios, as well as for the users, staff and visitors.
YG Entertainment’s new HQ will set a new stage for K-Pop to continue its growth on a global scale.
For more on the project.
Take a 'tour' of the building here.