Asif Khan designs all-black pavilion

Asif Khan’s all-black pavilion for Hyundai Motor at the South Korea Winter Olympics

Asif Khan has crafted an all-black pavilion for Hyundai Motor at the South Korea Winter Olympics.

(Image credit: Luke Hayes)

last updated 17 August 2022

Could this be the darkest building on earth? ‘On entering the building, it feels as though you are being absorbed into a cloud of blackness’, says its creator, British-based architect Asif Khan. Welcome to the 2018 Winter Olympics Hyundai Motor pavilion.

The structure, set within the PyeongChang Olympic Park, is without a doubt, a distinctive and dynamic piece of architecture. Conceived as a super-black composition, fully coated in light absorbing Vantablack VBx2, this pavilion is a playful take on a blackout space; its matt black material is able to absorb 99 per cent of the light that hits its surface, appearing almost as a black void, even in broad daylight. Its exterior is ‘illuminated by a field of stars that appear to float in mid-air’, adds the architect.

*Khan's design for the pavilion was inspired by the automotive company’s technology*

Part of Hyundai Motor’s global mobility initiative, the structure features 10-metre-high parabolic facades but measures a mere 35m x 35m in footprint; however its impact far surpasses its physical size. Inside, Khan created a ‘water room’ – an intricate installation emitting 25,000 singular water droplets per minute. Visitors can interact with them through sensors, altering their rhythm. The droplets collect into a lake that drains and reappears throughout the course of the display.

The contrast between inside and outside is powerful, creating an impressive effect. ‘The water installation visitors discover inside is brightly lit in white’, says Khan. ‘As your eyes adjust, you feel for a moment that the tiny water drops are at the scale of the stars. A water droplet is a size every visitor is familiar with. In the project I wanted to move from the scale of the cosmos to the scale of water droplets in a few steps. The droplets contain the same hydrogen from the beginning of the universe as the stars.’

In tune with Hyundai’s mission to explore how ease of mobility can enhance everyday life, the pavilion’s design is inspired by the automotive company’s technology.

Asif Khan's all-black pavilion for Hyundai Motor at the South Korea Winter Olympics in the landscape — Watch Asif Khan's pavilion come to life in the landscape

The interior of Asif's Khan’s all-black pavilion for Hyundai Motor at the South Korea Winter Olympics — The structure is coated in a matt black material that is able to absorb 99 per cent of the light that hits its surface

Asif Khan’s pavilion features 10-metre-high parabolic facades — Khan’s pavilion features 10-metre-high parabolic facades but measures a mere 35m x 35m in footprint.

Inside Asif Khan’s pavilion at the South Korea Winter Olympic is a water element — Inside the pavilion a water element is designed to interact with visitors.

Asif Khan’s pavilion for Hyundai Motor at the South Korea Winter Olympics — Khan’s design was inspired by the automotive company’s technology.

INFORMATION

For more information visit the Asif Khan website

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).