BARKOW /LEIBINGER: REFLECT. BUILDING IN THE DIGITAL MEDIA CITY. SEOUL, KOREA

For over a century the high-rise office block has been one of the most widespread architectural typologies in the world. Because of standardized requirements for flexibility in the ground plan, there is generally very little design latitude in the interior, and as a rule it is typically only the facade that remains available for any architectonic individualization. Since the development of the curtain wall in the mid-twentieth century, the glass facade has become such a global standard that an average office block in Sydney can now scarcely be distinguished from one in New York, Beijing, or Moscow. An extremely interesting design alternative has now been developed by Barkow Leibinger for their Trutec Building in Seoul. The sculptural approach to the facade means that this building has a surface which makes it stand apart from its surroundings, yet at the same time brings it into a close visual relationship with the buildings adjacent to it. The facade sits between complete artistic free play and standardized seriality, and draws its aesthetic strength from this tension. The outcome is the fortunate result of what was initially a problematic situation: by intentionally assimilating the surrounding buildings onto the facade of the Trutec Building through reflection and optical fragmentation, the designers could react while still now knowing what the emerging surroundings would ultimately offer. The idea of fitting two elevator cabs in one shaft has been exercising engineers' minds for decades. It was the development of the Twin system by ThyssenKrupp Elevator that allows for a higher transportation performance. Includes Essays by Ilhyun Kim, Brett Steele, and Anthony Vidler. Five Chapters: Glass Culture in the Work of Barkow Leibinger, The Trutec Building of Sangam Digital Media City, Site Unseen, Barkow Leibinger in Conversation with Barry Bergdoll and Andres Lepik, Surface versus Depth, and Twin Elevators Transporting Peiople in the Buildings of the Future.