Seoul City Hall
iArc Architects / Yoo Kerl · Seoul, South Korea · 2012
Seoul’s new City Hall wraps a large glass-and-steel volume behind the retained 1920s former municipal building. iArc shaped the sweeping façade to rise above the historic structure while creating a vast multi-story interior atrium filled with vegetation and public circulation. The old city hall was adapted as Seoul Metropolitan Library, allowing the project to combine preservation and contemporary government functions on the same civic site. Opened in 2012, the complex is a visible example of Seoul’s effort to make municipal administration more publicly accessible while negotiating a difficult relationship between heritage and new construction.