Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, by Zaha Hadid

The Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a cultural hub designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for the historic centre of Seoul, was inaugurated on 21 March 2014 by hosting Korean Fashion Week. Conceived as an architectural landscape that revolves around the ancient city wall and the cultural artefacts discovered during archaeological excavations preceding its construction, the DDP features exhibition and convention halls, a design museum, a library, an education centre, a media centre, and archival areas.

Enveloping the DDP, a new 30,000 square-metre park was added as a new place for leisure and relaxation within the busy urban fabric of the Dongdaemun district. The park’s layout and design reinterprets the spatial concepts of traditional Korean garden design, namely layering, horizontality, and a blurring of the spatial concepts of interior and exterior.