Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel's firm Ateliers Jean Nouvel has completed Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana's new store in Seoul, South Korea.

Named Dolce & Gabbana Store Seoul, the 835-squre-metre store is wrapped by four cornered pillars made of black granite and make a striking contrast with an extra-clear glass cylinder unit at the center of the building.

Located at Cheongdam-dong, in the Gangnam District, the new store is an architectural ode to the encounter between love for tradition and ceaseless innovation, as the studio stated in a project description.

The design of the store emerged as a renewed collaboration between the fashion brand and Jean Nouvel who created an exhibition at Palazzo della Ragione in Milan in 2009 for the Italian fashion brand. 

The new store, designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel and Jean Nouvel Design - a multidisciplinary studio of the firm, is located in the main luxury retail street of Seoul and "is characterized externally by the evanescence of its volumes, which redesign the district’s profile."

Nouvel used a five-storey cylinder made of extra-clear glass in the middle, situated between four corner pillars made of black granite, the volume offers the city an overall view of the Dolce&Gabbana Collections displayed within it. 

Thanks to the large convex glass facades on two sides of the building, it is opened up and perceived from different angles of the street.

Nouvel used "the light transparency of the glass and the intense black, a symbol of absolute elegance." According to him, these two components "chase each other in a game of mutual references that moves from the outside into the heart of the store."

The design becomes surprising and attractive, the interior of the boutique features a single large spiral ramp, clad in mosaic Nero Marquina marble, which seamlessly connects the different floors, thus offering a special and unique visiting experience. 

"The visitor is invited to be carried upwards by this vortex to discover the Dolce&Gabbana Collections, which are enhanced, floor by floor, by a captivating lighting system," said Ateliers Jean Nouvel.

The interior design is kept as minimal as possible but dominated by the use of black in its countless shades and finishes: glossy black glass, gray concrete and black anodized aluminium interact with the warm and refined nuances of mango wood.

"This recreates a welcoming and sophisticated environment, suitable to host Dolce&Gabbana creations," as the studio continued.

"The main display system, which extends over the entire spiral ramp, is obtained by the use of a succession of modular elements to which shelves and rods are affixed at different heights: the result is an evocative swirl of objects that appear to float following the direction of the spiral slab." 

Corners and loggias created inside are designed as black granite volumes to offer additional spaces for displaying products and intimate dressing areas.

The same experience is repeated on the terrace floor: the lounge welcomes guests in an environment with a strong contemporary feel, surmounted by a large semi-circular canopy, the ideal completion of the spiral ramp that dominates the entire building. 

The furnishings, the elegant black metal seats and the sinuous granite bar counter contribute to making the space the ultimate destination for unforgettable moments of conviviality and relaxation.

The store of Dolce&Gabbana hosts the Ready to Wear, Accessories, Fine Jewellery and Watches Collection for Women and Man and the Made to Measure service by Dolce&Gabbana Sartoria.

French architect recently revealed design for a resort hidden within the rock dwellings in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Desert. Jean Nouvel's "Desert Rose" National Museum Of Qatar opened in Doha in 2019.

The first phase of Jean Nouvel-designed stone-clad Aquarela complex was completed in Ecuador.

Project facts

Project name: Dolce & Gabbana Store Seoul

Architects: Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Location: Seoul, South Korea.

Size: 835m2 

Date: 2021

All images © Dolce & Gabbana. Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Jean Nouvel Design

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