Hyundai modern

현대자동차 영남권 연수원

Year of Completion: 2020

Project Location: Gyeongju, Korea

Client: Hyundai Motors

Hyundai is the symbol of Korean modernity. The word “hyundai” in Korean means modern indeed. The company grew up around the heavy industry, such as car/steel/ship manufacturing, and the noticeable aesthetics shown through its headquarters seem to be very much rooted in this characteristic. The architecture of this training facility is also in the lineage of simplicity, mega-scaled, iterative module, spaciousness, and openness, achieved through bold structure and materiality. What made this architecture differentiated was the location. The facility is located on a hill that is 30m high above sea level and along a stretch of the East Sea, where the geology of columnar joints is present nearby. 

Respecting the scale of the architecture, PARKKIM designed the softly rolling topography which would greet the visitors upon entering the site with a grand gesture. Then the courtyards were designed to amplify and dramatize the tension between the surrounding landscape and mega architecture. PARKKIM tried to curate the materials that are commonly found in Korean traditional gardens, such as rough stones, thick granite pavers, grass, water, and mounds, in an unconventional way. In this landscape, composition of any sort was not the most important design goal. Rather, it is the combination between materials and their strategic allocation that make the holistic scene one drama.