OMA's galleria in gwanggyo with opal stone-like façade is realized in korea

commanding a prominent corner site in the center of gwanggyo, a new galleria designed by OMA / chris van duijn has opened its doors to the public. marking the sixth outpost of korea’s first and largest upscale department store franchise, the huge stone-like volume intends to become ‘a natural point of gravity’ for local residents in the burgeoning new city.

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA (also main image)

surrounded by tall residential towers, the new galleria provides a welcome contrast to the existing urban context thanks to the dynamic use of glazing and stone on the elevational treatment. the textured mosaic stone façade, which is designed by OMA to evoke the nature of the neighbouring suwon gwanggyo lake park, creates an almost opalescent or marbled texture. puncturing this volume is a large element of multifaceted glazing, which gives the building an organic quality while also offering passersby a glimpse inside the department store.

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

in addition to breaking up the opacity of the large stone volume, the multifaceted glazing also serves as a public route that connects the sidewalk to a roof garden, which includes both retail and cultural activities. through the glass, the indoor program is revealed to the city’s passersby, while visitors in the interior can enjoy new vantage points over gwanggyo. formed with a sequence of cascading terraces, this public loop offers spaces for exhibitions and performances.

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

‘with a public loop deliberately designed for cultural offerings, galleria in gwanggyo is a place where visitors engage with architecture and culture as they shop. they leave with a unique retail experience blended with pleasant surprises after each visit.’ – OMA partner chris van duijn.

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

‘the public loop entwines gwanggyo and the galleria by making visible and tangible the activities of shopping typically hidden from the city’. – OMA associate ravi kamisetti.

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

‘galleria gwanggyo is the largest department store that galleria has opened in ten years and will play a pivotal role as a core branch providing premium MD lineup and the best VIP facilities and services. in addition, through collaboration with world-class architect OMA, it is well received both domestically and internationally for its creative architecture that is distinct from typical department store format, which applies a new paradigm that ‘transmits light throughout the building through the public loop’. galleria gwanggyo is the most beautiful department store and is expected to become a unique landmark representing korea and the world, providing a new inspiration to customers.’ – hanwha galleria president and CEO eun soo kim.

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

image © hong sung jun, courtesy of OMA

image courtesy of OMA

image courtesy of OMA

image courtesy of OMA

image courtesy of OMA

project info:

project name: galleria in gwanggyo

location: gwanggyo, korea

architect: OMA

client: hanwha galleria

status: completed

milestones: commission, 2016; SD, 2016; DD, 2017; CD, 2017, CA 2018; interior design 2018

program: retail

above ground: 793,526.24 ft2 (73,721 m2)

below ground: 683,422.20 ft2 (63,492 m2)

partner in charge: chris van duijn

associate: ravi kamisetti

project leader: patrizia zobernig

team:

concept phase: mark bavoso, alan lau, james lee, slobodan radoman, tianyu su, john thurtle

schematic design: mark bavoso, james lee, john thurtle

design development: ikki kondo, james lee, daan ooievaar, slobodan radoman, john thurtle

interior design: nils axen, simon bastien, tommaso bernabo, minjung cho, felicia gambino, nicola ho, meng huang, zhenke jin, richard leung, ioana pricop, junsik oh, calvin yue

collaborators:

executive architect: gansam

contractor: hanwha engineering&construction corp.

facade consultant: VS-A

curtain wall consultant (smart node): withworks

model maker: edelsmid emile estourgie with yasuhito hirose and made by mistake, rj models

model photography: frans parthesius