KMD Awarded Commission to Build New City Hall for Seoul, Korea.

(From Hugin)

Striking Design Creates a New Architectural Icon That Reflects the City's Pride and Growing Importance as a World-Class International City

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/02/2006 -- San Francisco-based architectural firm KMD, with offices and projects worldwide, is proud to announce that it has won an international design and construction competition for the new city hall in Seoul, South Korea, in partnership with Samoo Architects and Samsung Engineering Construction. The civic structure, which looks onto Seoul Plaza, a central gathering place, will be a visual symbol of the city's pride and growing leadership in the world. The new City Hall, as envisioned by KMD's design team, will stand out as a striking, elliptical-shaped, 21-story glass tower with a unique, open form that invites interaction and discovery. During the day, the beauty of the surrounding area and the busy lives of its 10 million residents will be reflected in the structure's jewel-like facade. As dusk falls, the glowing lights of City Hall will illuminate downtown Seoul creating an enduring beacon for the city's civic pride and prosperity. The design is a unique prelude to the future of civic architecture, by challenging traditional authoritarian and historicist civic building design. It celebrates the notion of "openness" of government through design and creates a sense of place for the community. "Our intention was to create a City Hall that would be readily accepted as a 'people's place' that is welcoming in spirit, enjoyable to visit, and perhaps most importantly, aspirational," said Ryan Stevens, Design Principle of KMD. "The new City Hall symbolizes the City's emergence as a world-class destination and it's our hope that it will provide the same sense of pride and 'ownership' that architectural icons such as the Chrysler Building in New York City and the Opera House in Sydney have given to those cities' residents." An Historical Sense of Place The Koreans' deep appreciation for their history as well as their hopes and confidence in the future is symbolically reflected not only in the new building design, but also in the walkways and gardens that will connect the new City Hall with many of the country's most significant and cherished landmarks that surround the site, such as the Deoksugung Palace, the Kyungbok Palace, the Namdaemoon gate and its historic shopping markets. The existing City Hall, built by the Japanese during their occupation of the country in the 1930s, and now classified as a historical preservation building, will remain adjacent to the new structure in the heart of what has historically been Seoul's "old city." Both face Seoul Plaza, a newly landscaped plaza -- the location for hundreds of years of celebrations and events. A Welcoming Gesture, ...