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HOK’s London team joined South Korea President Park Geun-hye, LG Group chairman and executives, and hundreds of guests to unveil the design and break ground for a new 11.8 million sq ft (1.1 million sq m) research and science campus for LG Group in Seoul, South Korea, last week. The complex will be the largest research complex in western Seoul and act as the centre for LG’s next-generation research and development.
Located in Seoul’s Magok District, the LG Science Park is a research campus providing facilities to support innovative research and industrial prototyping. When it is complete, employees from 10 different LG affiliates will move to the landscaped urban campus. HOK designed phase one of the master plan and six of the laboratory and office buildings totalling 8 million sq ft (743,000 sq m). HOK provided architecture, interior design, laboratory planning, landscape architecture, master planning and urban design services.
“Based on the wide range of science accommodated and the emphasis on sustainable design, the new LG Science Park will be a unique campus in the global research community,” said Larry Malcic, HOK’s director of design in London. “The architecture, planning and landscaping reflect the LG brand by being innovative and rational, elegantly simple and beautifully detailed.”
Planned around the company’s vision for highly collaborative, interdisciplinary research, LG Science Park provides flexible buildings and laboratories for virtually every type of science. HOK’s design, which incorporates many sustainable design strategies, provides high-quality, flexible facilities that will attract and retain leading research scientists from across the world.
HOK’s design encourages communication and collaboration among six LG business units. A public greenway bisects the site from north to south, connecting the campus to a public park. The master plan also creates a new linear park running east to west through the site, forming extensive swaths of greenery and encouraging public access to the parks.
Intersecting the parks at the heart of the campus is an Integrated Support Center (ISC) housing shared campus facilities. Designed by HOK for U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum certification, the ISC features a welcome centre, LG exhibition and conference facilities, sports and recreation facilities, a children’s nursery, a VIP suite and office space.
Each LG affiliate has its own main entrance and lobby. Building elevations are framed with natural stone and in-filled with glass and stainless steel panels to create a variety of facade treatments that provide views to the parks and minimize solar gain. In the lower ground level, under the linear park, a dining facility accommodating 11,000 people links affiliate buildings and shared facilities. A three-level basement provides a connecting service corridor, support spaces, a central utility plant and parking for 4,200 cars.
The LG Science Park’s sustainable design strategies include self-shading facade treatments and the use of innovative technologies such as algae panels and footfall harvesting to generate power. Flat roof surfaces accommodate photovoltaic panels and vegetated roofs, whilst ground-source heat pumps provide heating and cooling.
HOK worked in association with Korean practices Gansam Architects, Chang-Jo Architecture and LG Toyo Engineering; engineering consultants WSP (structural and civil engineering) and Vanderweil Engineers (mechanical, electrical and plumbing services).