The ST International HQ & SongEun Art Space, or “473 SongEun”, in Cheongdam-dong (Gangnam, Seoul), opened in 2021. It is Herzog & de Meuron’s first completed project in South Korea.
The building has 11 storeys above ground, with five underground levels. Its volume is sharply triangular from one angle; from another, it reads as more compact. The south façade is mostly concrete, interrupted by two long vertical windows. The concrete itself is textured: formwork of rotated wooden boards was used to create wood-grain imprinting on the surface, a motif tied to the name “SongEun” which means “hidden pine tree”.
The interiors are mixed-use: art studios and galleries at lower levels, office space above ground, and publicly accessible cultural spaces. The building includes a ramp or triple-height void acting as a threshold and a kind of public auditorium-slash-gallery. Its design responds to plot regulations, zoning constraints and the commercial context of Cheongdam-dong, which has high land value, dense buildup, and significant prestige.