Located near the intersection of Sejong-ro and Cheonggyecheon, the Dongah Life Insurance Head Office shows the diversifying aspects of skyscraper design that were occurring in the midst of modern Seoul’s changing urban environment. Breaking away from a strict modernist design, the 19-storey building stands out for its diverse use of materials and colors towards the top of the building, and a combination of different elements in terms of the building’s façade design. The glass arches on the upper levels – the building’s most distinguishing feature – extend into a rooftop garden constructed with a bolted steel frame structure, which weaves the image of a city that undergoes changes in a somewhat different context from the flow of Art Nouveau and Postmodernism in the history of western architecture.
