A forest of silvery aluminum and wood, awakening senses
A collection of vertical aluminum louvers forms a radiant silver forest. These 20,000 aluminum louvers meticulously cover the building’s exterior, creating a play of light and shadow. It evokes the darkness concealed by dense foliage and the sunlight filtering through the gaps in a forest. This is the initial impression of ‘Audeum,’ an audio museum that brings a touch of nature within the city. Located in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Audeum is operated by the Seojeon Foundation and is dedicated to the history of audio development, collecting, researching, and exhibiting materials spanning over 150 years since the phonograph’s invention in 1877.
The museum, with a total floor area of 11,009.43m², comprises five floors above ground and two basement levels. Its exhibition halls are filled with collections of 19th-century phonographs, music boxes, and vintage audio systems from the 1920s to the 1960s. The space at Audeum serves as an architectural tool that allows visitors to feel primal senses and return to a natural state. The exterior features aluminum louvers to capture the beauty created by sunlight changes, revealing an exterior that shifts with the weather, time, and seasons, emphasizing the diverse and random characteristics of urban environments and nature.
The interior of the exhibition hall is finished in wood. Unlike typical wood finishes, detailed ‘wood drapes’ are used to create a soft, natural texture. The transition from hard, dense aluminum to soft wood creates a noticeable change in the space from outside to inside. Here, wood is used as a sound-absorbing finish that subtly stimulates the senses and creates a sense of closeness to nature. In the basement lounge, the three-dimensional design of the fabric material, which has a subtle glow, is used to enhance the acoustic effect.
At Audeum, visitors can enjoy not only visual experiences but also auditory moments, while feeling the shimmering light, the faint breeze, and subtle scents in response to the properties of the materials. Audeum, a space to experience sound and acoustics, offers an experience that opens all the senses, as if staying in nature, free from urban noise.
Project: Audeum / Location: 6 Heolleung-ro 8-gil, Seocho District, Seoul / Architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates / Contractor: KCC corporation, Nippon Design Center (NDC), Lighting Planners Associates (LPA) / Site area: 2,332.90m² / Bldg. area: 1,089.13m² / Gross floor area: 11,009.43m² / Bldg. scale: five stories below ground, five stories above ground / Design: 2019.5.~2022.12. / Construction: 2021.8.~2023.8. / Photograph: ©Namsun Lee (courtesy of the architect); ©Yongbaek Lee (courtesy of the architect); ©Taiki Fukao (courtesy of the architect)
