Following more than three years of design and construction, the highly-anticipated, 53,000-SM, 11-story Hyundai Department Store opened last August in Daegu, Korea, making it the largest department store for both the brand and the south east region of the country. The new location brought in record profits of $5 million on opening day and $15 million over its first five days, due in no small part to the store’s distinctive architecture and interiors that are a departure for Hyundai’s brand.

Hyundai had a tried and true department store model with established demographics, but the company reached out to RTKL to update its traditional approach. Through its scope of architectural concepts and schematics, full service interiors, and environmental graphics, RTKL took this opportunity to broaden the brand’s appeal for a larger audience and an increased youth/young adult fashion component. The result was a strategy to shift the department store’s standard design from high-end classic to luxury modern, from a place to a destination, and from product-oriented to people-oriented.

Previously, the brand had one overall look and feel, but the design team’s strategy created distinctly different customer experiences throughout the project, endeavouring to form a different atmosphere and character for each department.

The team also enhanced the shopping experience with customer service lounges, cooking school and classroom facilities, a roof-top park and a level dedicated to dining. Two different architectural facades—a formal, traditional stone base and an animated, overlapping glass feature wall with a built-in LED system—make the building an icon in the city and an even bigger draw for visitors. All of these elements combine to create a centre that goes beyond the typical shopping trip and becomes a community-oriented space that encourages people to spend the day exploring.

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