naruse inokuma architects, working alongside local firm a round architects, has transformed the interior of a subway station in south korea. the design team entered a competition to renovate seoul’s noksapyeong station in 2016. in 2017, it was announced that the site next to the station, a former army base, would be converted into a public park. ‘we therefore wanted to create a bright, gentle space for meditation in this station that would honor this region’s forthcoming future and hope for peace,’ say the architects.

naruse inokuma seoul noksapyeong
all images by masao nishikawa

 

 

in order to fill the space with natural light, naruse inokuma architects created a huge, white dome to be hung within the station’s atrium. ‘while the roman pantheon emphasizes shadows, we tried to underscore fluctuations in light by abstracting the existing landscape of the station in a thin fog through our dome,’ the design team continues. ‘direct light from the skylight lights up a portion of the dome and bleeds out.’

naruse inokuma seoul noksapyeong

 

 

the appearance of the interior changes throughout the day, with the dome becoming almost invisible at night. ‘these changes occur at a radically slow pace as compared to the busy lives of the people who pass through the station, and may thus remain unnoticed,’ explains naruse inokuma architects. ‘however, we hope that by spending some time here or experiencing the changing seasons, you will come to sense a certain dynamism of nature, so different from the scales we are used to, within the everyday space of this station.’

naruse inokuma seoul noksapyeong

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'
the space prior to the project

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'
plan | image courtesy of naruse inokuma architects

naruse inokuma + a round architects transform seoul's noksapyeong station with a 'dance of light'
section | image courtesy of naruse inokuma architects

 

 

project info:

 

name: dance of light
architecture firm: naruse inokuma architects (tokyo, japan)/ a round architects (seoul, south korea)
lead architects: yuri naruse, jun inokuma, kie torii/ changhyun park, yoonji cha
planned area: 2,722.02 sqm (planned area)
location: seoul,republic of korea
completion year: 2019

 

organizer: seoul metropolitan government
conductor: tpot
structural design engineer: yosuke kinoshita (kinoshita structural engineers) / keun-wook dong (eun structural engineers)
contractor: seok-hwan choi (il-a metal design)
photography: masao nishikawa