LG Arts Center
Seoul, Korea
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

A world class cultural center invigorates Korea's capital

© KAN Photo Studio

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The LG Kangnam Art Hall, a component of the LG Kangnam multi-use complex, is a performing arts facility which houses a 1,040-seat stage hall, an art gallery, a retail arcade, banquet facilities, restaurants, and an exhibition hall.

Designed to host a variety of performances ranging from western drama and dance to chamber music, and traditional Korean folklore plays to opera, oration, and digital recording, the performing arts venue requires complete staging facilities. The stage hall is therefore composed of three parts: a theatre facility including an audience chamber, a stage house, and lobbies. Each component is a direct expression of its internal functions.

The audience chamber is encased by a central green granite volume and is clad in stainless steel to suggest the technical functions within. The lobbies are defined by a nine square structural grid which holds a transparent glass curtain wall and gives the illusion that the entire structure is floating above the ground plane, reinforcing the idea of separation from the real world. They are located to be visible from the street and offer spectacular views to the street below.

In concert with Theatre Technologies, the architect provided specific structural and mechanical engineering expertise to achieve exceptional acoustical isolation. The audience chamber and stage house are designed as a separate building resting on a state-of-the-art structural vibration dampening system, while the mechanical system is designed around a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model that regulates audience comfort and hall performance.

Formal name of building:
LG Arts Center

Location:
Seoul, Korea

Owner:
LG Group Mr Koo, Bon-Moo, Chairman
10, Yoido-dong, Youngdungpo-Gu
Seoul, 150-721, Korea
011 822 3773 2000

Architect's firm:
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
224 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60604
312.554.9090
fax 312.360.4554