kengo kuma plans ‘lotte tower’ as a stacked skyscraper for busan, korea

kengo kuma’s Vertical Landscape Along the Port

In South Korea‘s coastal city of Busan, Kengo Kuma and Associates have completed the Busan Lotte Tower, a fluid glass skyscraper rising from the former City Hall site. The project stands at the meeting point of land and sea, its form shaped by the surrounding harbor and the patterns of movement that define the port. The tower’s facade captures the rhythm of waves drawn by passing ships, and expresses the city’s maritime identity through its texture and fluid, reflective surfaces.

Horizontal bands ripple across the exterior, tracing a continuous line around the building. These curved bands blur the distinction between spandrel and vision glass, softening the vertical rise into a fluid gesture that reflects the changing surface of the sea. The glass shifts from transparent to gently tinted to mirror the light and color of Busan’s coastal sky.

visualization courtesy Kengo Kuma and Associates

Rhythm and Material of lotte tower

The Busan Lotte Tower is shaped by Kengo Kuma and Associates as a stack of curved transparent volumes. This vertical stack is reflected through the internal program, each layer subtly offset to suggest motion. This composition produces an interplay of concave and convex surfaces, echoing the undulation of waves. The materials — glass, aluminum, and finely detailed louvers — allow light to shimmer across the facade while maintaining a calm rhythm that tempers the building’s scale.

At the upper levels, the horizontal lines of the façade dissolve into slender fins. These become louvers that filter sunlight and wind, creating a transitional space at the rooftop observatory. Here, the city, sea, and sky meet in a single panoramic field. The observatory appears to float above the harbor, its light structure open to the shifting air and the horizon beyond.

visualization courtesy Kengo Kuma and Associates

Integration with Context of busan, korea

The Busan Lotte Tower extends the city’s dialogue with the sea. Kengo Kuma’s approach avoids monumentality, favoring continuity with the surrounding landscape. The tower reflects its context rather than asserting contrast, allowing the movement of light and water to animate its surface throughout the day. Seen from the port, the building reads as a vertical extension of the shoreline — its shimmering facade absorbing the hues of sunrise and dusk.

In the evening, soft interior light brings the horizontal lines into subtle relief, giving the impression of an illuminated current rising through the tower. From street level, the curved glass volumes frame glimpses of activity inside, linking the rhythm of urban life with the broader cadence of the harbor.

visualization courtesy Kengo Kuma and Associates

project info:

name: Busan Lotte Tower

architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates | @kkaa_official

location: Busan, South Korea

status: ongoing

team: Seungjun Lee, Doyup Lee, Daihoon Kim, Cheuk Lam Chan, Rikuro Sakaushi, Edward WooHyun Chung, Fumitake Suzuki (CG)
construction: Lotte Construction
structure: ARUP, CNP
facility: Samoo Architects & Engineers
exterior: LHYn
illumination: EONSLD

The post kengo kuma plans ‘lotte tower’ as a stacked skyscraper for busan, korea appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.