"There's something mesmerizing about watching waves crash against a harbor, the way they ripple and fold into themselves with an effortless rhythm. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma must have spent some time observing this when designing the Busan Lotte Tower, because he's managed to bottle that exact energy and stack it into the sky. Rising from the former City Hall site in South Korea's bustling coastal city, this skyscraper isn't your typical glass-and-steel rectangle reaching skyward."
"The tower's design captures the wake patterns left by ships moving through Busan's busy harbor. Think about those moments when you watch a boat glide through calm water, leaving behind those beautiful, undulating trails. That's exactly what Kuma's team translated into architecture. The facade features horizontal bands that ripple across the exterior, creating a continuous line that wraps around the entire structure."
"What makes this approach so clever is how it blurs the usual architectural boundaries. The glass shifts seamlessly from transparent to gently tinted, mirroring the changing colors of Busan's coastal sky throughout the day. It's not trying to dominate the landscape but rather reflect and celebrate it. This is pure Kuma, who's known for his philosophy of creating buildings that harmonize with their surroundings rather than fight against them."
"The structure itself is conceived as a stack of curved transparent volumes, each layer subtly offset to suggest motion. This creates an interplay of concave and convex surfaces that echo, you guessed it, more waves. It's architecture as poetry, where form doesn't just follow function but captures feeling. At ground level, the experience shifts. Those curved glass volumes frame glimpses of the activity happening inside,"
Kengo Kuma and Associates designed the Busan Lotte Tower on the former City Hall site in Busan, South Korea. The tower's form captures wake patterns left by ships, with horizontal bands that ripple across the exterior and wrap the structure. The façade transitions from transparent to gently tinted glass, mirroring coastal sky colors. The building is conceived as stacked curved transparent volumes, each layer offset to suggest motion, producing concave and convex surfaces that recall waves. At ground level, curved glass volumes frame glimpses of interior activity, connecting urban life with the waterfront rhythm. The design prioritizes harmony with the surroundings rather than domination.
Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News
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