QR Mart
06Original drawings are preserved. Their embedded annotations may remain in Korean; the project narrative and figure captions are available in English. Expand “Reading this drawing” below a figure for translated main labels or a reading guide where available. Select an image to inspect it at full resolution.
An urban mart connecting online purchasing with in-person experiences. Three voids organized around circulation, light, and views connect spaces for experience and rest vertically.
Design Concept
QR Mart proposes an urban retail model that combines online purchasing with in-person experiences. Customers experience products on site, then order them online for delivery.
The original subtitle, 'How Will You Live?', addresses both purchasing habits and ways of living. The project explores whether a mart can accommodate a range of everyday activities by converting product display and storage areas into spaces for experience and rest.
Purchasing System
The project examines how the growth of online distribution could reshape the spatial organization of large retail stores. Product experience routes are separated from delivery routes, and the store is conceived as a place for display, experience, and promotion.
Online ordering reduces the need for visitors to carry their purchases. Reconsidering a retail model centered on shopping carts and private cars, the proposal takes the form of a vertical store accessible on foot and by public transport.
Location Analysis
The proposed site occupies approximately 3,400 m² at 116 Seosomun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Access to public transport and the potential for a connection to a subway station informed a mart integrated with everyday urban routes.
Surrounding activities and access routes were organized into user scenarios, alongside analyses of neighboring building heights, sunlight, and pedestrian arrivals. Views toward Deoksugung Palace and daylight access informed the location of the voids and the centers of the floor plans.
Program
Product categories in conventional marts and online shopping were compared, and the activities associated with using those products were translated into spatial programs. Food products connect to deli and dining spaces, while products for work, hobbies, children, and pets connect to spaces where those activities can be experienced.
Spaces for experience and rest are arranged vertically to link different reasons for visiting. The layout accommodates both brief visits in passing and longer stays across several floors.
Reading this drawing
The left-hand diagram traces four user journeys through food, office/work, hobbies, rest, childcare, lower- and middle-level programs, car access, walk-through circulation and a rest area. The program clusters on the right include exhibition, art shop, pop-up retail, fashion and deli; playground, work room, photography studio, lounge and botanical garden; and leisure sports, bookshop, study room, performance room, camping, sleeping room, café, office, restaurant, outdoor garden and garden.
Voids
The lower-level void is organized around arrivals from the street and below ground, the middle-level void around daylight, and the upper-level void around city views. Each acts as a central space that gathers visitors and distributes them to the surrounding programs.
Non-retail rest areas are placed between sales areas. Vertical circulation follows the voids to create a continuous sequence of experiences and places to pause.
Plan Organization
Radial axes are established around the middle- and upper-level voids. The view axis points toward Deoksugung Palace, while the daylight axis follows the center identified through solar analysis.
The slab shapes and void areas vary according to their relationship with the center of each floor. Even on repeated floors, the interface with the void and the depth of the surrounding spaces are designed to differ.
Plans and Sections
Basement and lower ground-level floors accommodate entry, passage, and everyday food and convenience programs. The route passes the deli and terrace on the second floor and continues to the lounge and botanical garden on the middle floors. A swimming pool and viewing area are proposed on the fifteenth floor.
The section shows how voids of different heights connect the floors, while the plans show the arrangement of experiential programs and circulation around them.
Reading this drawing
The room labels are already in English. The Korean annotation identifies a space open above.
Experiential Spaces
Sketches and renderings explore the deli, pet cafe, children's area, botanical garden, work lounge, and swimming pool. Dining, working, resting, and other activities associated with product selection are developed into spatial programs.
The scale of each void, curved surfaces, level changes, and furniture arrangements were adjusted to examine how each program would be used.
Reading this drawing
The original sketch pages explore curved floor edges, stacked levels and the relationship between open voids and the street. Handwritten notes remain part of the process record.
Model Study
A model including the site and neighboring buildings was used to study the building's height and placement. The building model exposes the slabs and voids on each floor, making it possible to examine variations in the curved plans and their relationship to the open spaces at mid-height.