Buk Seoul Museum of Art, SeMA
Relatively lacking cultural facilities, the North-eastern part of Seoul required a new cultural space that would provide citizens with equal opportunities to enjoy cultural lives. Reviving the memories of Nowon which used to be a field of reeds, the design team at Samoo Architects & Engineers visualized a cultural hill that would harmonize with the gallery park. Like a serene white mass integrated into the hill, Buk Seoul Museum of Art revitalizes the region which is mostly composed of monotonous high- rises apartments and provides a nature-friendly cultural space in which the green flow of the park integrates with the art museum to become a single entity.
Due to the fact that the museum would be located within an existing park, the museum was orientated to have maximum connectivity to the surrounding environment. Access from roads, streets, and the park was opened up to be integrated with the museum. To create a museum that was fully integrated with the park, some access routes were integrated with the landscape features and extended to the roof-top gardens of the museum for maximum accessibilities.
Within the museum, diversified circulation system creates a space of ‘connectivity’ where various elements of people, nature, and art converge to create new possibilities in communication & collaborations. The exhibition galleries are located on various floors around a central atrium that provides natural lighting and connectivity. The basement floor is planned for educational and multi- purpose facilities which involve active communication and exchange of ideas with local citizens. On the first floor, library, multimedia facility, and exhibition hall for children and teenagers are located for easy access. On the top floor and the rooftop gardens, an outdoor sculpture park is connected directly to the surrounding landscapes to create an extension of the museum into the park.
The interior of the museum have been designed to minimize distraction to the visitors with focus on creating a calm environment. Indirect or reflected natural lighting have been introduced to the atrium and corridors where visitors can have a sense of connectivity to the surrounding environment outside the museum. Triangular geometries which are signature elements of the museum landscape have been extended inside the museum to create a continuous spatial experience.
With attention to orientation and façade designs that would minimize cooling loads and maximize energy efficiencies, the museum deploys various technologies to realize a truly sustainable building. With extensive use of roof-top gardening & cool-tube effects from perforated walls, the museum will aid in minimizing the heat-island effects in a densely populated area of Seoul.
Location: 1238, Dongil-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Korea
Area(GFA): 17,113m2
Floors: 3F / B3F
Awards: Grand Award of Seoul Architectural Work Award 2013
Korea Ecological Architecture & Environment Award 2013
Completion: 2013
