kwame k
04-23-2009, 02:26 PM
Wed Apr 22, 12:06 pm ET
SEOUL (AFP) – It looks like a giant tent pitched by aliens who landed overnight in the yard of one of Seoul's ancient royal palaces.
Welcome to the Prada Transformer -- billed as the world's first shape-shifting building -- which can be lifted and rotated into different configurations to house art, film, fashion and other events.
"It's a kind of statement that architecture doesn't always have to be heavy... stable and repetitive," Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas told journalists at a preview Wednesday.
The structure, funded by the Prada Group, has four different shapes -- a hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle.
Construction cranes will lift and rotate the structure into different facades and floor plate configurations to create a new venue for each cultural event.
"When you rotate this building, its floor becomes walls and walls become the floor," said Alexander Reichert, senior architect of the Dutch-based Office for Metropolitan Architecture.
Situated next to the 16th century Gyeonghui Palace in the busy South Korean capital, the Transformer is also a visible symbol of the contrast between modernity and tradition, he said.
Koolhaas said architecture must accommodate many different activities. "That is the essence of architecture," he said.
"Waist Down - Skirts by Miuccia Prada" will make its Korean debut on April 25 at the Transformer, showcasing a collection of skirts by the Italian fashion powerhouse.
The exhibition space will be transformed into a cinema in June.
Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090422/lf_afp/lifestyleskoreafashionarchitectureprada_2009042216 0750)
SEOUL (AFP) – It looks like a giant tent pitched by aliens who landed overnight in the yard of one of Seoul's ancient royal palaces.
Welcome to the Prada Transformer -- billed as the world's first shape-shifting building -- which can be lifted and rotated into different configurations to house art, film, fashion and other events.
"It's a kind of statement that architecture doesn't always have to be heavy... stable and repetitive," Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas told journalists at a preview Wednesday.
The structure, funded by the Prada Group, has four different shapes -- a hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle.
Construction cranes will lift and rotate the structure into different facades and floor plate configurations to create a new venue for each cultural event.
"When you rotate this building, its floor becomes walls and walls become the floor," said Alexander Reichert, senior architect of the Dutch-based Office for Metropolitan Architecture.
Situated next to the 16th century Gyeonghui Palace in the busy South Korean capital, the Transformer is also a visible symbol of the contrast between modernity and tradition, he said.
Koolhaas said architecture must accommodate many different activities. "That is the essence of architecture," he said.
"Waist Down - Skirts by Miuccia Prada" will make its Korean debut on April 25 at the Transformer, showcasing a collection of skirts by the Italian fashion powerhouse.
The exhibition space will be transformed into a cinema in June.
Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090422/lf_afp/lifestyleskoreafashionarchitectureprada_2009042216 0750)