Hou Liang Architecture

Time: 2006.07

Location: Seoul, Korea

Client: Committee for the Seoul Performing Arts Centre

Key dimensions: 53000 m2

Competition: International design competition

The site of the Seoul Performing Arts Center is situated on an artificial island, located in the middle of Seoul city’s Han River.  Exploited the qualities of the central position we have raised the building to a 50meter height, making it viewable from the entire city.  The building contains a network of sightseeing terraces that are designed to encircle the performance art programs and provide 180° views of the city.  An exterior double skin sandwiches the building’s vertical circulation which provides access to and from these terraces.  The performance center’s functional spaces are stacked within the exterior system like individual blocks creating outdoor patios between each mass.  Controlled by a special LED lightning system on its façade, this vertical construction becomes a light tower at night.  

The surrounding landscape not only prevents the highest floods, but provides recreation zones for public use. Inside the dam, there are 4 multiple-scaled valleys, which can consecutively house different outdoor activities. Outside the dam, there is a waterfront with varied slopes and native wetland vegetation with different types of landscape pockets scattered throughout. These diverse topographical features allow diverse outdoor activities for the visitors; it especially encourages many kinds of informal performances.   As the focal point of the island the SPAC building allows for both island recreations to be viewed while overlooking the whole of Seoul. Thus, the city and island activity become a performance stage as lively as the concert and opera hall performances.