Dongdaemun Design Plaza

I have to confess that while the futuristic architecture of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul is fascinating, I preferred visiting the historic... more

by Joan Carroll

Title

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

I have to confess that while the futuristic architecture of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul is fascinating, I preferred visiting the historic areas! The Dongdaemun Design Plaza also called the DDP, is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea, with a distinctively futuristic design characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of elongated structures". It still sits quite close to the Dongdaemun street markets so on one block you are in the future and the next block firmly in the past. The traditional palace areas seem to be in harmony with nature to a greater extent, while the DDP is a mass on concrete and quite cold. Nevertheless, the landmark is the centerpiece of South Korea's fashion hub and a popular tourist destination. It features a walkable park on its roofs (which we didn't get to), large exhibition spaces, futuristic retail stores and restored parts of the Seoul fortress. We went into some of the exhibition spaces, where the vendors appeared more intent on maintaining the orderliness of the displays than in soliciting business! One vendor practically took an item from my hands to place it back on the shelves to get them all straightened up. The DDP has been one of the main reasons for Seoul's designation as World Design Capital in 2010. Construction started in 2009 and it was officially inaugurated on March 21, 2014.

FEATURED PHOTO, Premium FAA Artists group, 12/24/14

FEATURED PHOTO, Out Of The Ordinary group, 12/19/14

FEATURED PHOTO, Just Buildings group, 12/19/14

FEATURED PHOTO, Black and White Photography group, 12/17/14

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December 17th, 2014