Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Wayfinding in the heart of Seoul

Downtown Seoul is home to one of Zaha Hadid’s iconic creations: the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). This major cultural center encompasses a museum, design centre, and expansive exhibition and conference spaces, organised into three distinct zones within the building’s shell. These zones are interconnected through a complex network of interior, exterior, and underground routes. 

The building’s entirely curvilinear design features no internal columns, and with only a few windows, its matte white walls extend seamlessly from floor to ceiling. These unique architectural elements, while visually striking, pose significant challenges for visitor orientation, making wayfinding a critical consideration.

Applied served as the primary wayfinding consultant for the DDP’s wayfinding and signage project, working as part of a local consortium. A driving element to the project was to treat the three separate spaces encompassed within the shell as individual buildings with distinctive identities, while retaining awareness of the routes between them. Applied meticulously researched and analysed the space, context and its potential visitors to devise a principle wayfinding strategy.

The wayfinding strategy decoded the spaces, providing a system that simplifies understanding of physical and virtual connections within the DDP building, to the wider campus and to adjacent transport stations.

client
Seoul Design Foundation
location
Seoul, South Korea
stats

10 million

visitors each year

931,875 sq ft

floor area

45,133 

cladding panels

SEGD Merit Award

A striking, complex site

The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, created in Zaha Hadid’s signature neofuturistic style, is characterised by curving forms and an absence of sharp angles. This architectural marvel contains complex spaces and thoughtfully incorporates Seoul's cultural heritage site within its design.

Photos: Seoul Design Foundation

Research and wayfinding strategy development

The Applied team undertook research and analysed the space, context and potential visitors, in order to devise a comprehensive wayfinding strategy.

Coded alphanumerals played a critical part in the strategy for identifying buildings, levels and entrances. This approach transcends language barriers to function as a practical marker and indicator for navigation, as well as provide information that clarifies and enhances the experience of using the space.

One roof, three buildings

A driving element to the project was to treat the three distinct spaces as individual buildings, even though they are deceptively covered by one roof.

Award winning

Applied and the local partnering consortium won the prestigious SEGD (Society for Experiential Graphic Design) Merit Award in 2015 for the wayfinding work on the DDP.

Find out more about the award.

The heart of Dongdaemun

Since opening its doors to the public, the DDP now boasts 10 million visitors a year, much exceeding its original goal of 5.5 million annual visitors.

Playing host to a wide variety of events and exhibitions, from traditional art and design exhibitions to contemporary cultural events like Seoul Fashion Week, the DDP is now a leading cultural landmark of Seoul.