Dongdaemun Plaza Kiosk | NL Architects

Young Joon Kim (yo2) is the supervisor of public space of Dongdaemun Plaza in Seoul. He has invited 10 offices to create 3 small kiosks each. The idea is to eventually construct 30 booths that will provide room for different functions; a series of mini buildings for exhibitions, commercial activities, exchange of information, surveillance, interaction. The stalls range in size from 4, 6 to 9 m2. But what is a kiosk?

Until recently the site was occupied by two large stadiums (for baseball and soccer) that almost touched each other; a surprisingly intimate urban gesture.
Apparently this delicate initial ‘hugging’ of the stadiums was only the foreplay for a more encompassing embrace; the former buildings now seem to have melted into one single body: the Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

This breathtaking and groundbreaking masterpiece by Zaha Hadid houses a fashion design information center with convention and exhibition halls.

After initial reluctance to build anything on the square –it seemed quite disturbing to imagine any additional ‘tags’ on this immaculate landscape– we were all persuaded to try and contribute to catalyzing the public space.

Everyday (and especially every night) the plaza will turn into a lively market and the projected kiosks will have to accommodate and channel the activities. The starting point for our ‘family of booths’ is the regular shipping container. The steel boxes are placed either horizontal or vertical depending on the projected functions.

In the presence of Zaha all matter seems to become fluid… Even the most rigid of forms turns malleable, pliable, soft.

The containers are modified to optimally house the required program: they are inflated, bend, twisted, deformed; they ‘morph’ according to specific additional functionalities: roof light, stand, canopy. An extended family of surreal containers can come into being. Supported by our good friend SeungSoo Shin two proposals are being prepared for implementation. One can accommodate small exhibitions; the other will serve as information booth.

All display walls can be opened. These eight doors can form seemingly endless layouts, from completely closed to totally open.Perforated steel plates allow for easy mounting of products or shelves.

The roof is transparent.The information booth contains a small elevated plateau with a desk and cupboards.The tail is squeezed to form a soft urban couch.

Team:
Gen Yamamoto with Jose Ramon Vives and Eke Hoekstra, Laura Riano
Local architect:
SeungSoo Shin, Design Group OZ