Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates
Area: 11,009 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Lee Namsun, Lee Yongbaek, Taiki Fukao
Local Architect: YKH Associates
Design Team: Sungyeon Won, Hiroyo Yamamoto (CG), Shoki An (3D), Yi Ji, Yuzuru Kamiya (Model), Masafumi Yukimoto, Yuya Mori, Jeongwon Kim, Sayaka Shimizu (Model)
Cooperation: Kozo Keikaku Engineering, NI Steel
Construction: KCC Corporation
Illumination: LPA – Lighting Planners Associates
City: Seoul
Country: South Korea
The Audeum (Audio Museum) in Seoul, designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates and YKH Associates, changes the traditional museum experience by engaging multiple senses. Completed in 2024, the building features aluminum louvers on its exterior that create shifting shadows, similar to natural light patterns. Inside, wood finishes help connect visitors to nature. The design encourages interaction with sound, light, wind, and fragrance, making it more than just a visual experience.
In addition to its architectural innovation, The Audeum serves as a place for auditory exploration, reimagining how sound can be experienced within a museum setting. Located in Seoul’s Gangnam District, it functions as an architectural instrument in itself, reconnecting visitors with nature through the engagement of all five senses. By embracing this holistic sensory approach, The Audeum offers a distinctive platform for a new era of immersive, multi-sensory engagement.
The exterior design employs vertically overlapping aluminum louvers, creating dynamic shadows. These louvers allow light and shadow to interact, mimicking the effect of sunlight filtering through a forest. The use of aluminum pipes, arranged in a seemingly random pattern, highlights the interplay of order and natural disorder, reflecting the changing light influenced by time, weather, and seasons. These pipes envelop the building, giving the facade a different expression depending on the season, integrating the unpredictable nature of the urban environment with the building’s design.
Inside, the exhibition rooms are finished with wood, featuring a ‘wood drape’ detail that emphasizes the softness and natural quality of the material. This interior contrasts with the hard aluminum of the exterior, creating a smooth transition from outside to inside. The wood finish is also designed with acoustics in mind, enhancing the sensory experience by stimulating human senses and fostering a deeper connection with nature.
The Audeum offers a multi-sensory experience, engaging not only vision but also sound, light, wind, and fragrance. This experience elevates the museum beyond its traditional role, positioning it as a space for healing and sensory exploration. The Audeum aims to become a symbolic space for a new era.
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Project Location
Address: 6 Heolleung-ro 8-gil, Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
I really enjoyed reading about The Audeum project by Kengo Kuma & Associates. The design is impressive!