Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or DDP, is a large cultural complex in Seoul, South Korea, designed by Zaha Hadid with the Korean firm Samoo. Its silver building has no sharp corners and flows like liquid. The main building is 280 metres long, and about 45,000 aluminium panels cover its skin. It was opened on 21 March 2014.

It stands in Dongdaemun, Seoul's big fashion district, and it is famous for its futuristic curves. It has exhibition halls, shops, a walkable park on its roof and restored parts of Seoul's old fortress wall. It was one of the main reasons Seoul was named World Design Capital for 2010.

Why this shape?

Hadid won the 2007 design competition with a concept called 'Metonymic Landscape'. She wanted to bring together Seoul's history, culture, city life and economy in one flowing scene, and she said her design is about transparency, porousness and durability. Korean sources add that she wanted to echo the landscape of the Seoul fortress wall. The building is a smooth, mushroom-like shape that seems to float above the ground. It uses a double-skin facade, solar panels and a water recycling system.

From stadium to design hub

The site used to hold Dongdaemun Stadium, which was removed in 2007, and construction began in 2009. The plaza has three underground levels and four above ground, and it connects to a Seoul Subway station. Digital building models and a huge steel truss system made such big, curved spaces possible. In 2015 The New York Times listed it among 52 places to go, and Korean reports say over 8 million people visited in its first year.

On the globe

The toy model shows the long, cornerless silver building with flowing curves.