Tag Archives: Thomas Heatherwick

Heatherwick Studio’s Hanwha Galleria Redefines Urban Shopping with its Glorious Waved Glass Facade

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In the heart of Seoul, amid the vibrant chaos of the city’s dense urban landscape, an architectural marvel is poised to rise, a structure that promises to captivate every pedestrian and commuter who crosses its path. This is the Hanwha Galleria shopping center, a visionary project designed by Heatherwick Studio, known for pushing the boundaries of architectural design and redefining spaces in ways that engage both the eye and the soul.

Designer: Heatherwick Studio and Haeahn Architecture

Nestled at a major intersection near the Han River, this new shopping center is not just a place to shop; it’s a bold reimagining of what a department store can be in the 21st century. Gone are the days of insular, windowless retail boxes that isolate themselves from the life of the streets outside. Instead, the Hanwha Galleria opens itself up to the city, inviting everyone in, whether they’re there to browse luxury goods or simply to soak in the atmosphere.

The design features two near-identical, hourglass-shaped volumes formed from curved glass. These aren’t just any glass structures, they ripple and undulate as they rise, creating a dynamic play of light and shadow that changes with the time of day and the angle of the sun. By day, the facades shimmer, reflecting the city’s energy and by night, they transform into canvases for projections, turning the buildings into glowing beacons that light up the Seoul skyline.

But these buildings are not merely beautiful to look at, they’re designed to be experienced. At ground level, the two volumes are separated by the busy intersection, but an updated subway station lies beneath, connecting them with a seamless flow. This underground passageway doesn’t just serve as a practical link between the buildings; it’s an extension of the city itself, drawing people in from all directions and inviting them to explore what lies above.

As you ascend from the subway into the buildings, you’re greeted by light-filled entrances and landscaped plazas. These spaces are designed to be more than just entryways, they’re vibrant public areas where people can gather, relax, and enjoy the greenery. The hourglass silhouettes of the buildings create recessed middle levels that are transformed into open-air gardens, cafes, restaurants, and shops. These spaces are not just solely for shopping, they’re places to linger, to meet friends, and to take a break from the hustle of the city.

Rising above, the rooftop gardens offer a different perspective, both literally and figuratively. Here, amidst lush greenery, you can take in sweeping views of the Han River and the city beyond. The buildings’ unique contours frame these vistas in ways that make you see the city anew, each angle offering a fresh perspective.

But the Hanwha Galleria is more than just a visual or social experience; it’s a statement about the future. The double-layered glass facade isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s an environmentally conscious design that enhances the buildings’ sustainability. It’s part of a broader vision to create spaces that are not only beautiful but also responsible, offering natural elements throughout the year with carefully selected native plants that thrive in all seasons.

Heatherwick Studio’s design is a response to Hanwha’s ambition to breathe new life into these structures, transforming them into something more than just a shopping destination. The goal is to create a silhouette that serves as a gateway to the city while providing Seoulites with new, garden-like spaces where they can meet, shop, and enjoy their urban environment.

This project is a bold reflection of South Korea’s rising status as a global cultural leader. It’s no coincidence that this design comes as Thomas Heatherwick is set to take on the role of General Director for the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism in 2025. The Hanwha Galleria is more than just a building, it’s a symbol of a city that is looking to the future, embracing change, and redefining what it means to live, work, and play in an urban environment.

The post Heatherwick Studio’s Hanwha Galleria Redefines Urban Shopping with its Glorious Waved Glass Facade first appeared on Yanko Design.

This self-driving electric car sets new landmark for automotive design by cleaning up air pollution!

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Eco-friendly cars have many different faces: hybrid, electric, diesel, and biodiesel. Coming from the same studio that brought the Vessel to New York City’s Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio has conceptualized an autonomous electric car that goes further than reducing fossil fuel pollutants. Airo, Heatherwick Studio’s new concept electric car runs on electric power and actively cleans up the air when driven.

Airo comes complete with a state-of-the-art HEPA filtering system that removes fine particles from the air it drives through, edging the electric car’s green initiative even further. HEPA filters, or high-efficiency particulate air filters, are mechanical air filters that remove fine air particles measuring 0.3-microns in diameter. Airo’s HEPA filter is located in the vehicle’s undercarriage, where pollution from the air passes through and filters out, leaving the air around Airo that much cleaner.

In addition to its embedded air-filtering system, Airo’s interior has a versatile configuration that can be altered to form multi-functional spaces specifically designed for today’s progression toward a mobile lifestyle. Inside, Airo’s seats are fully rotational to form social spaces centered around the car’s four-leaf table that unfolds to create a lounge-like booth and folds away when driving. A collapsible screen can also morph the inside of the car into a pod for gaming after long drives. Settling into the night, Airo’s seats fully recline to form a cozy double bed, and the electric car’s transparent, glazed roof turns opaque when you’re ready for lights-out.

Slated for production in 2023, Airo is designed for IM Motors and runs as a fully electric vehicle equipped with autonomous and self-driving modes. Whenever you’d like to turn Airo’s interior into a dining booth or lounge area, the driving is taken care of through smart technology. Constructed from weathered steel, Heatherwick Studio designed a charging station for IM Motors that will become an integral piece of city infrastructure for the future of electric vehicles.

Designer: Heatherwick Studio

Airo’s smiling exterior combines a minimal grille with a sinuous design.

The electric car dons its roof and facades with a jet-black finish, while its wheels feature a radial scheme that echoes its front and rear.

With self-automated driving capabilities, Airo’s interior can be transformed into a social hub thanks to its fully rotational front seats.

When the driving day is done, Airo’s inside can morph into a spacious double bed that enhances any mobile lifestyle.

Planned as city infrastructure, Heatherwick Studio created charging stations that mimic the structure of foxtail agave plants and streetlamps.

YD Talks: The Making of SPUN, the most exhilarating chair in the world

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I remember the very first time I walked into a Herman Miller outlet. I walked right past the Aeron chair, Yves Behar’s SAYL chair, and even probably the most iconic thing in the room… the Eames Lounge Chair. I walked past all these hallmarks of great industrial design, because I had my eyes affixed on the most interesting object in the room. I say object because you couldn’t really call it a chair. It was an experience. It was the Spun.

“There was no intention to design a chair”, says Thomas Heatherwick in the video above. The Spun was the result of an experiment, rather than a conscious decision to make a seating device. This experiment finally evolved into a chair that was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was the furniture-equivalent of a rollercoaster ride. You feel uncertainty, surprise, thrill, joy, euphoria, in a matter of seconds, which is more than you can say of any seating device on this planet. Designed as an unstable seating device that could rotate on its rim and axis, the Spun literally spins you around, tilting you ever so gently that you get this feeling of almost falling over, but never actually ever falling over, thanks to some incredibly precise design engineering. The spinning action gives you a quick burst of adrenaline and a release of endorphins that bring about childlike joy no matter how old you are. The minute you complete half a rotation, there’s a sudden awareness as you feel you’re about to topple backward, but you never do. The immediate relief of anxiety is quite literally a stress buster, and the cycle continues with each subsequent rotation.

The Spun Chair was designed back in 2010 by Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studios for Magis (eventually finding a home in Herman Miller too). Stand it upright and it doesn’t look like a chair at all… it only becomes a chair when you incline it. The rotationally symmetrical Spun is a rare type of chair that finds itself fitting perfectly into domestic as well as commercial spaces, and indoors as well as outdoors. Made using rotational molding (so it’s hollow on the inside) with polyethylene, the Spun comes with bands or lines across its surface that serve multiple purposes. The lines form a texture that prevents you from slipping off the chair. They provide a gripping surface not just for your backside, but also your hands that are bound to grip the chair as you find yourself feeling stable at one moment and unstable at another. Forming an element of CMF, the ribbed lines give the Spun a distinct play of light and shade, while also quite literally making it look like blur-lines from the spinning chair!

Watch the video above where Thomas Heatherwick breaks down the creation process for Spun in a video directed by Juriaan Booij.

Designers: Thomas Heatherwick (Heatherwick Studios) and Magis Design

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Google presents plan to extend headquarters at Silicon Valley

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Google has revealed its plans to expand its headquarters at the Silicon Valley city where it is based already. The plans were submitted on Friday and includes presentations of movable structures...