Located in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul, the Korea World Trade Center is a landmark that symbolizes the globalization of South Korea in the 1980s. The Center is a multi-functional space with a floor area of over 110,000 pyeong, designed to flexibly accommodate growing international trade-related activities and events related to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. This building, which has two sleek, vertically extending masses connected together, retreats from the street incrementally as it rises upwards – reminiscent of a set of steps. In addition, because the front, left and right elevations are finished with glass, rather than feeling heavy, the building refracts the surrounding urban environment and appears to float.
