YG Entertainment Headquarters
A new headquarters for the K‑pop label YG, next to its original building in Hapjeong‑dong: nine floors above ground and five below, 18,800 m² of offices, recording studios and meeting rooms around a central atrium with a hidden garden.
- Client
- YG Entertainment
- Size
- 18,800 m²
- Years
- 2017–2021
- Team
- Ben van Berkel, Astrid Piber with Marc Salemink, Tiia Vahula, Hyoseon Park, Paul Challis
- Local architect
- Gansam Architects & Partners
- Photography
- Rohspace
The building is nicknamed the Urban Speaker. Its skin is a continuous product‑like form: fully glazed towards the park, semi‑glazed as it turns, and closed where it faces the street. Perforated aluminium panels let the life inside show through as points of light, and planting is pulled up from the adjacent park into the façade so the building reads as part of the landscape rather than an object on it.
At night the volume glows and has become a pilgrimage point for fans. Inside, the plan is organised to give every workspace daylight and a view of the river or the park.
