DIGITAL HERITAGE CENTER

location cultural facility lot in Sejong-ri, Sejong, Korea
date 2021
client The National Agency for Administrative City Construction

surface 11 947m² (8548m² + 3399m² underground Parking)

status International Design Competition / Finalist
design team Studio Akkerhuis + ArchiWorkshop

Located at the heart of the new administrative capital, the purpose of this state of the art facility is to shed a new light on cultural heritage through the use of immersive media technology ; it is a place where the Physical and the Virtual, Culture and Technology meet to create new experiences, new values, new meanings and new esthetics.

In order to reflect the unique nature of the program and ignite the public’s curiosity and imagination, the building is conceived as a gateway to another dimension : it presents a sequence that takes the visitor through different layers of transparency and opacity to arrive at the core of the exhibition.

The symmetrical and central composition of the plan is based on a regular 8.1m grid to allow for maximum efficiency and flexibility. Generated from this regular framework, the vertical structure and the horizontal rhythm of the double roof reveal the clear constructive logic of the building.

Enveloping and protecting the inner volumes, the light and transparent skin acts as a media facade on the north and east side, while the south and west facades incorporate photovoltaic panels serving as power source and blinders for sunlight control.

From the immersive virtual reality contents inside the opaque exhibition box, to the transparent circulatory skin and roof area that opens to the surrounding landscape made of infinite layers of mountains, the analogue and the digital blends into one sensory reality that connects history and future to enhance our present.