2023
Shinsegae Group, a leading retail conglomerate in South Korea, invited RAMSA to design a new training center for the company on a site assembled over several decades on the western edge of Jangchungdan-ro. Intended as an embodiment of Shinsegae’s own company values, the 200,000 square-foot building honors the prominence and history of its site with a contextual character that enhances the surrounding urban fabric and streetscape.
The building’s massing is both contemporary in character and organized with traditional principles. Facing Jangchungdan-ro, a rusticated limestone facade defines a central pavilion, enclosing a grand three-story atrium where multiple entrances into the building converge. Above, a series of curving setbacks create terraced gardens with an exquisite facade composed of a continuous pattern of recessed-brick, punctuated by portions of brick “screens” set in front of glass windows. The building’s crown, a decorative brick-screen penthouse, creates a lantern-like presence on the skyline. Above Jangchungdan-ro, the design takes advantage of the steeply sloped site to create a distinct private entrance, with an intricately detailed decorative metal gate and a allée of dawn redwoods leading into a motor court.
RAMSA worked with Shinsegae to plan the building’s interiors, including employee lounges, classrooms and meeting spaces. Pierre Yves Rochon was responsible for the interior design of these spaces and also provided the finishes for Trinity Hall, a 440-seat multipurpose function space. Located at the heart of the building, Trinity Hall is the project’s centerpiece, designed in collaboration with the acoustic design firm Nagata and theater design specialist FDA to accommodate varied acoustics and event types, including cultural services, education programming and performances.
