The World’s 2nd Tallest Building to be in Seoul

Ground-breaking ceremony for 133-storey Seoul DMC Landmark building rising 640 meters kicks off construction

The Seoul DMC Landmark Building, the tallest building in Asia and the second tallest in the world at 133 stories, has broken ground to begin a five-year long construction period in Sangam-dong, Seoul, on Oct. 16.
A slew of dignitaries at a ceremony to launch the mammoth project included Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, 25 investors and residents of Sangam-dong, totaling some 1,000 people. The ceremony began at 6 p.m. with a special light show as part of the 2009 Seoul DMC Culture Open Festival with all kinds of high-tech multimedia facilities employed to make the event colorful and meaningful to signify Seoul City’s future vision to make the digital industry a futuristic growth engine with the Digital Media Center in Sangam-dong, Seoul, as the symbol of the city’s growth strategy.
Mayor Oh in his congratulatory speech said the world’s second tallest building will spur the development of the digital industry in Korea, bringing a mighty contribution to the nation’s economy.
The project will be completed in April 2015 at a cost of 3.326 trillion won. The 640-meter-tall building will have 133 stories above ground on a space some 37,280 square meters with 724,675 square meters in total space, said President Kim Woo-sok of the Seoul Light Tower Asset Management Co., a special purpose company set up by investors for the building project to take charge of all phases of the construction from design, project order, sales and management of the building after its completion.
Kim, who is former first deputy mayor of Seoul, said the landmark building will be a “building city” equipped with all kinds of facilities needed for daily life. What sets the DMC building apart from other such buildings like the Burj Dubai and the Taipei 101 is that it has facilities for residents, hotels, offices, shopping and cultural activities all integrated in one building. The projected building will have a large empty space in the middle for fresh air and to generate power needed for the building. The building will have walls that can generate power with sunlight and also a digital aquarium lighted by LED, the CEO said.
It has been hard to secure all needed funds from investors, although 25 investors have been secured so far including five nationwide commercial banks and the teachers union. The building will include apartments, which can be sold before they are built, doing much better than the Dream Tower to be built in Yongsan, Seoul, Kim said.
The structure will include broadcasting facilities on the 131st and 132nd floors, a dining room for performers, a business hotel on floors 85 through 108, luxury apartments from floors 45 to 84 and high-tech IT offices from floors 8 to 45, department stores, shopping malls and a convention center on floors B1 to 8. The DMC Building will be a diametrically integrated living space as it includes such facilities as businesses, lodging, residential, exhibition, commerce, public offices, culture and congregational areas.
The SOM Co., a well-known architectural firm designing super tall buildings around the world, was assigned to design the building in September under the auspices of the Samwoo Architectural Design consortium, which is responsible for the design end of the project.
The Genslor Co. will design the commercial sections at the lower part of the building to make the building a truly global monument in terms of environmental friendliness so that it will set a new standard for super tall buildings around the world.
Seoul City officials said the construction will create 11 trillion won in economic effects, creating jobs for 86,000 people with 2 trillion won in value-added effects. It is also expected to create a digital culture through staging various digital entertainment contents so that it will be a landmark not only for Seoul, but for the entire world. nw

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon delivers a speech at a ground-breaking ceremony for the Seoul DMC Landmark Building 133 stories tall at the Digital Media Center in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Oct. 16.

A bird’s eye-view of the projected Seoul DMC Landmark Building scheduled to be completed in 2015.

A group of dignitaries led by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and legislators from Seoul, among them, clap hands at a ground-breaking ceremony for the Seoul DMC Landmark Building in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Oct. 16.