Korea Development Bank Headquarters

The design acknowledges and respects the complexities of the site with one side facing Yeouido Park, what was once a military airport during WWII, one side the low-rise government sector, and the other facing a high-rise commercial and residential district. Unlike the more classical symmetry of its building predecessors, the composition reminiscent of a still-life painting of KDB’s multiple facades and volumes, permit a dialogue with the context in a modern language that is at once formal and informal in harmony with the scale of the park.

The four-building composition is comprised of the “Bar Building” containing administrative offices, the “Trapezoid” containing specialized functions such as a gallery and library, the “Ellipse” containing banking halls and trading floors, and the “Roof” housing KDB’s leadership including the boardroom overlooking Yeouido Park. At the center of the composition is the seven-story atrium and main lobby, skylit from above, with connecting bridges to each of the four building components. The entire composition is elevated on a stone plinth and mirroring the roof, a precise cut reveals a reflecting pool respecting the ancient architecture of Korea’s past.