[Special Interview] Chris van Duijn
Chris van Duijn / Partner of OMA
1. What do you think is the ideal urban space in Seoul and why?
What’s interesting about Seoul is its diversity and variety, which makes the city truly unique. One notable feature is its proximity to the mountains. On the slopes of the mountains, you’ll find villages with a unique, fine-grained scale and rich texture where people live, work, and dine.
Sometimes, only 100 meters down from these villages, you encounter major infrastructure and high-rise buildings. Within just a few steps, you can experience both the vibrant metropolitan environment and the intimate, village-like atmosphere. I think this duality is a defining quality that makes Seoul stand out among global metropolises.
2. When designing architecture, how much do you consider the user's perspective? How often do buildings end up being used or maintained in the way the designers intended?
I think there are two sides to this. When we design a project for a client, we follow their brief and provide what they’ve asked for—specific numbers of rooms, apartments, or square meters.
But beyond the client, there are also people who live there, the neighbors next door, and those passing by every day. From a user perspective, there are many different types of users to consider. A building is not only there to fulfill one client’s needs but also to contribute to the city as a whole.
So, we usually look at our projects from as many perspectives as possible and try to address concerns from all relevant users.
At the same time, as architects, our role goes beyond replicating what already exists. We don’t design buildings that simply mimic those next door. Our job is to come up with better solutions—ideas the client may not have thought of yet. In the end, it’s about finding the best solution for a specific project while balancing the diverse perspectives of its users.
3. Recently, many renowned architects have been focusing their work in Seoul. What is OMA's stance on this trend?
Seoul was the first city in Asia where we did a project. More than 20 years ago, before we built anything in China, we were invited to work on projects in Seoul, including the Leeum Museum and a building for Seoul National University. So, you could say we’ve been following Seoul for the past two and a half decades.
What’s particularly exciting is seeing how Seoul has evolved—from being a very distinctly Korean city to becoming an international metropolitan hub. It’s like watching a flower that first looked inward but is now blooming outward.
Seoul has become an international hub in Asia, which naturally attracts many architects and designers. The city has become a dynamic environment with new cultural institutions, events, museums, and an influx of international students. At the moment, Seoul is definitely one of the most exciting places to be in Asia.
