Yoon-A Chung
Evolution of Retail Architecture: New Means of Spatial Value in Korean Modern Society
During the pandemic, the World has experienced a great spatial restriction and the drive to experience fresh air and outdoor space has increased in Korea, too. As a response, a new form of retail space in Korea has been phenomenal, which is an indoor garden introduced by the Hyunda
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During the pandemic, the World has experienced a great spatial restriction and the drive to experience fresh air and outdoor space has increased in Korea, too. As a response, a new form of retail space in Korea has been phenomenal, which is an indoor garden introduced by the Hyunda
Chapter 2: Evolution of Retail Architecture
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The core idea that attracted people was the futuristic and sustainable department store. The gardening of the Hyundai was designed by Hyun-Mi Woo, who believes, “As long as there are stars in the sky, flowers on this earth, and love in our hearts, humans are happy” by Goethe (BAZAAR, 2021). The Hyundai Seoul was born as a shopping centre in the ‘with post corona era’ by breaking the spatial stereotypes of department stores without windows or blocking sunlight. Half of the total area was boldly designed with a 'naturalism concept in the city', with the use of natural elements through pathways and artificial waterfalls. (2021)
Chapter 3, ii: Golmok, an Alleyway Retail Development
Perhaps this is another way of creating their own world through an online language of being 'young and creative’ in society. These are places where you must find information and travel long distances on purpose. Such visits not only provide an exclusive experience, but the journey itself becomes a story.
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Figure 2
Using the example of an ‘altacucina’ restaurant, it is located on a ground floor of a typical building of an urban flat, which is rare for a restaurant to be located at. What triggers the audiences are not only its location but also the signboard. The restaurant does not have a name of its brand, but a mere lightbox painted in gradient pink. This is one of the emerging image of a shop, that it hides into its surrounding environment.
Both department stores and golmok retail spaces are a place of entertainment beyond their core function as to either shop or to eat and so on. However, the core difference in both experiences is in their journeys. Through consumer psychology, the reason why Korean society adored golmok is in its spatial experience. When walking into the golmok, the visual focus is made on individual shops that we become curious about the next step of the journey from a corner to the next corner. The narrow scope of the sight made the experience of golmok more entertaining since the journey may feel like a series of unexpected discoveries.
In contrast, standing in the crowded main street, we are directly informed of everything in sight but are more likely to be overwhelmed by it. A space where there is a constant change of environment makes people think and makes the experience more memorable. Therefore, people are searching for these hidden spaces. People may not visit them on cold or rainy days, but such limitation also becomes an advantage in good weather comparatively. Clearly, the two realms are very different but as a place of entertainment, both spaces are surprisingly similar in the way they both provide ‘the event’ during its spatial experience.
“I see a lot of events. It's not just about doing something; it's about feeling a variety of things. I agree with that 100%.” (Jung, 2022)
Bibliography
BAZAAR, 2021. 더 현대 서울 조경을 맡은 우자매의 빛나는 공간들 The Shining Spaces of the Woo Sisters in charge of The Modern Seoul Landscape Jung, G., 2022. Evolution of Retail Industry in Korea and its relationship with architecture.
List of figures
Figure 1 designallee, https://design-allee.com/
Figure 2 Instagram @altacucina_official
Figure 1
The core idea that attracted people was the futuristic and sustainable department store. The gardening of the Hyundai was designed by Hyun-Mi Woo, who believes, “As long as there are stars in the sky, flowers on this earth, and love in our hearts, humans are happy” by Goethe (BAZAAR, 2021). The Hyundai Seoul was born as a shopping centre in the ‘with post corona era’ by breaking the spatial stereotypes of department stores without windows or blocking sunlight. Half of the total area was boldly designed with a 'naturalism concept in the city', with the use of natural elements through pathways and artificial waterfalls. (2021)
Chapter 3, ii: Golmok, an Alleyway Retail Development
Perhaps this is another way of creating their own world through an online language of being 'young and creative’ in society. These are places where you must find information and travel long distances on purpose. Such visits not only provide an exclusive experience, but the journey itself becomes a story.
Figure 2
Using the example of an ‘altacucina’ restaurant, it is located on a ground floor of a typical building of an urban flat, which is rare for a restaurant to be located at. What triggers the audiences are not only its location but also the signboard. The restaurant does not have a name of its brand, but a mere lightbox painted in gradient pink. This is one of the emerging image of a shop, that it hides into its surrounding environment.
Both department stores and golmok retail spaces are a place of entertainment beyond their core function as to either shop or to eat and so on. However, the core difference in both experiences is in their journeys. Through consumer psychology, the reason why Korean society adored golmok is in its spatial experience. When walking into the golmok, the visual focus is made on individual shops that we become curious about the next step of the journey from a corner to the next corner. The narrow scope of the sight made the experience of golmok more entertaining since the journey may feel like a series of unexpected discoveries.
In contrast, standing in the crowded main street, we are directly informed of everything in sight but are more likely to be overwhelmed by it. A space where there is a constant change of environment makes people think and makes the experience more memorable. Therefore, people are searching for these hidden spaces. People may not visit them on cold or rainy days, but such limitation also becomes an advantage in good weather comparatively. Clearly, the two realms are very different but as a place of entertainment, both spaces are surprisingly similar in the way they both provide ‘the event’ during its spatial experience.
“I see a lot of events. It's not just about doing something; it's about feeling a variety of things. I agree with that 100%.” (Jung, 2022)
Bibliography
BAZAAR, 2021. 더 현대 서울 조경을 맡은 우자매의 빛나는 공간들 The Shining Spaces of the Woo Sisters in charge of The Modern Seoul Landscape Jung, G., 2022. Evolution of Retail Industry in Korea and its relationship with architecture.
List of figures
Figure 1 designallee, https://design-allee.com/
Figure 2 Instagram @altacucina_official