Hobak Tower / ArchiLAB MIT

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Text description provided by the architects. In the downtown area of Daegu, the third largest city in South Korea, two types of structures dominate the urban landscape: the deteriorating mid-rises that remain from the era of rapid economic growth in the 1980's and the intermittent new additions of glass curtain wall structures. In the midst of the old and brittle, architects Kyu-Hyeong Kim and Sang Hwa Lee designed Hobak Tower to become a symbol of weight, solidity and permanence: a monolithic urban landmark that asserts weight beyond its physical size.

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A strong physical presence was pursued in various ways. Dimensions of all structural and ornamental elements of the exterior, including fenestration and lighting, were based on a rigid, orthogonal grid. Material-wise a single type of granite was used throughout the entirety of the exterior, and to further accentuate the uniformity a fritted pattern emulating the exterior granite finish was applied to all glazing on the upper floors of the building. The heavy materiality of the exterior extends into the interior where massive split face granite panels adorn the lobby walls, contrasting in treatment, but equal in its gravity.

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