Recently, The HYUNDAI SEOUL, which has made various attempts at a nature-friendly design, is attracting a lot of attention. Since many people are more interested in interior design due to COVID–19, the interior of The HYUNDAI SEOUL is in the spotlight. The HYUNDAI SEOUL is a department store located in Yeouido. The scale was designed to be 89,100 square meters and opened on February 26, 2021. It was designed to simulate a natural environment to create a mood like a botanical garden. It is called the first nature-friendly department store in Korea. Excluding 51% of the department store area, the remaining 49% was devoted to

landscaping and creating a rest area. In addition, various restaurants provide things to see, play, and eat for customers. New technology has also been introduced for COVID-19 prevention and satisfactory service.

 The HYUNDAI SEOUL contains the architectural philosophy of world-renowned architect Sir Richard Rogers. It is a building reinterpreted based on the traditional Korean architecture style. The HYUNDAI SEOUL consists of a large indoor garden and natural turf. Sounds Forest, located on the 5th floor, transforms the music into appropriate music considering the time and weather of the day. Also, on the floor of the Sounds Forest, the building environment was created with various kinds of grass, trees, and flowers. It is beautifully decorated with stones placed between the grass on the floor. It is difficult to find indoor interiors using plants in existing department stores. In addition, the high glass ceiling, about 20 meters high, is designed to provide good natural light. It was designed to provide good lighting from the ceiling to the floor of the building by using void techniques. Large windows were located on the wall as well as the actual ceiling. Most department stores do not have windows, so the passage of time is unknown. This is because department stores design buildings to focus only on shopping. It should be said that there is little light in department stores without windows. In other words, there is also a clear difference in lighting from existing department stores. Through the windows, you can feel the changes in time and weather in The HYUNDAI SEOUL. Also, the interior includes the installation of artificial waterfalls and a large rest area in The HYUNDAI SEOUL. The man-made waterfall, which boasts a length of 12 meters (about the 4th floor to the 1st floor), is called ‘Waterfall Garden’. On the first floor, the end of the artificial waterfall is connected like a fountain. It is designed to appear comfortable without being stuffy with a high floor height of 17.5m. There is also a large greenhouse structure dome to take the center of the space. In addition, the overall rest area is wide, so you can enjoy beautiful landscaping with an open view.

  The HYUNDAI SEOUL will make efforts to minimize the waiting time and thoroughly prevent COVID-19 by introducing autonomous anti-COVID-19 guide robots and unmanned services. The unmanned automation store has created an uncommon store space by including Amazon Web service technology. Based on various food cultures, various kinds of food are prepared on the first basement floor of The HYUNDAI SEOUL. Moreover, it creates a mood where you can enjoy the food truck culture. It is called “22 Food Truck Piazza,” and food trucks are assembled on a 400 square meter scale. It captures the Korean food culture that has become a global trend. At the largest food hall, “Tasty Seoul,” measuring 4,438 square meters, Pharos tasted three dishes. The first meal was Fairfax, the signature dish of the ‘Egg Slot’. The soft bread is full of scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese. In addition, caramelized onion sauce adds a boost of sweetness and softness to the sriracha sauce. Whenever I took a bite, I could taste and feel the overflowing eggs in my mouth. The price is a little higher than average. The next meal was a spicy noodle dish to remove the burger’s grease. We ate spicy chicken stir-fried Vietnamese noodles at the “Fried Noodle Truck,” where you can taste the world’s representative noodle dishes. It contains various vegetables such as paprika, red pepper, onion, bok choy, and bean sprouts, and is a dish made by stir-frying spicy and sweet chicken with flat noodles. The last dish was the blueberry lemon flavored ice cream at The Plate Dessert. We expected a sticky texture like gelato, but it melted more like a slushy than we had anticipated. The taste was more sour than lemons in blueberry yogurt. There are various foods offered, so we want to try another dessert the next time we visit.

 There are a variety of things to do, see, and eat, so many people visit here. However, public facilities such as these seem to need regulation in the current situation. As of March 15th, two employees of The HYUNDAI SEOUL Department Store were confirmed to have COVID-19. It is said that not all customers who visited the department store can be tested for COVID-19, but instead only customers who used a credit card will be tested. In order to strengthen quarantine prevention, it is necessary to maintain three steps using escalators even when reducing the number of people on the elevator. In addition, the frequency of indoor ventilation increased from 6 to 12 and large-scale promotional events were suspended. Every weekend, they try to reduce the number of visitors with a double shift vehicle system to comply due to the government’s management and prevent traffic congestion. Free parking coupons are also not available on the weekend. The first basement restaurant has a transparent partition between the tables, and you still must wear a mask when talking after eating. In order to prevent a fourth surge, large multi-facilities should follow COVID-19 prevention rules.

 The natural interior, which was previously difficult to see in department stores, was applied to The HYUNDAI SEOUL. Creating a department store environment using indoor gardens, lighting, and artificial waterfalls can be seen as an effort to create a nature-friendly design. The emergence of The HYUNDAI SEOUL architecture, which is drawing attention from many corners, seems to have set the stage for the architectural community to take a new step forward. The challenge of new interiors, indoor facilities with a lot of attractions, and the introduction of new technologies are a hurdle that architecture must overcome. Moreover, it is expected to contribute to changing the stereotypes of existing standards. Things related to the inside of the department store are important, but due to COVID-19, the quarantine rules should also be followed closely in everyday life.

Management Editior•CHOI HYUN JEONG•chj010627@naver.com
76th Cub Reporter•JEONG SEUNG HYE•nora28@naver.com