Botanical Market
This is a renewal project for Hyundai Department Store, located in a large 6,000㎡ underground space, which brings together various food-related content such as restaurants, delicatessens, specialty shops, retail stores, and supermarkets. Since it is underground and cannot incorporate natural surroundings or open-air elements, we aimed to create a food experience that blends the comfort of the outdoors with the lively atmosphere of a market.

Our experiences of strolling through local streets, street vendors, and markets, where we enjoyed walking and eating, provided various inspirations for this plan. By incorporating elements of Korean food culture and the chaotic yet vibrant atmosphere of local food scenes, we wanted to capture the exhilarating feeling we experienced in the markets, where 'goods and people overflow into the streets.' To achieve this, we viewed the existing structure as a 'city' and began by designing the relationship between 'plazas' and 'streets,' much like planning a city itself.

The main circulation path, which creates a sense of flow through the large area, is designed with abstract, minimal white tent-like structures, resembling awnings. These form a continuous series that accommodates unique specialty shops, creating a lively atmosphere that spills out onto the street and adds vibrancy to the area. In the plaza, a raised ground surface has been created, with plants positioned above, and light flows through holes in the ground, casting shadows beneath a large eaves (below the surface) and creating a sense of comfort. Small delicatessens and restaurants line the area beneath the eaves, with planter benches and shared seating offering a variety of spaces where people can relax and enjoy. As a special feature, glass and frame showcases are scattered around, with plants and cooking demonstrations attracting crowds and creating a lively space.

To maximise this experience, we attempted to express natural phenomena through light. In the supermarket, which consists of specialty stores offering fresh produce and daily essentials, light entering from above replicates the natural sunlight of an outdoor market, while adding a touch of sparkle to the bustling live cooking spaces. In the plaza, the subdued lighting beneath the eaves and the light streaming through the holes create shadows from the plants, giving visitors a sense of being under trees and feeling the outdoors.

Through the interplay of light, plants, and architecture, the plants placed throughout the space are given life, creating an environment that feels intimate yet expansive, like being in a pleasant botanical garden. By merging elements of a market with a botanical garden—two typically unrelated spaces—we aimed to create a food hall where various activities such as eating, shopping, and relaxing blend seamlessly, offering both comfort and liveliness.