Heatherwick Studio wins the chance to remake Seoul's Coex Convention Centre

Seoul’s 46-year-old Coex Convention Centre will be getting a much-desired facelift courtesy of Heatherwick Studio after the firm was announced as the winner of an international competition to deliver a new facade and efficiency upgrades by the year 2029. 

Their winning design for the future project calls for adding module boxes of varying sizes in a stack along the perimeter, serving to create 'ever-changing' and more exciting spaces for public exhibitions, engagement, and enhanced conference functions.

The goal, according to Heatherwick Studio, is to maximize material reuse to create a new facade. A project description says the concept revolves around creating a "Cabinet of Curiosities." The firm says, in the end, this will create a "gathering place reflecting the forever-changing spirit of Seoul."

The design also offers a reconnection to the public realm and other improvements to the building’s public spaces, with a new ground floor experience and additional recuperations of the upper levels to make the building more "relevant and exciting" year-round. 

This will be Heatherwick Studio’s third new project in Seoul after winning another competition for a massive Nodeul Island transformation last spring. The firm is also currently renovating the Hanwha Galleria in the Gangnam district. Additionally, Thomas Heatherwick is serving as the General Director of the fifth Seoul Biennale, which takes place from September 1st to October 31st this year.