Brighten Hannam brings luxury living to Seoul’s trendy Hannam-dong district
Brighten Hannam by South Korean developer Shinyoung, architects Urban Agency and architecture studio Intg is Seoul’s latest luxury residential offering in the trendy Hannam-dong district

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The Seoul neighbourhood of Hannam-dong, home to Gucci’s flagship store in the South Korean capital and Thaddeus Ropac’s first Asian branch, has now also welcomed the metropolis’ newest luxury residential scheme, Brighten Hannam. The design- and amenity-led development, the brainchild of established local real estate specialist Shinyoung, architects Urban Agency and dynamic Seoul architecture studio Intg, which is led by partners Daniel Song and Kate Cho, promises a luxurious, architectural experience for its residents – and it has just launched its show apartment.
Drawing on the neighbourhood's richness, diversity and international culture – which also makes it hub for subcultures and hipster hangouts – Brighten Hannam proposes a vibrant, sophisticated spatial experience that appeals to creatives and young professionals. In a similar vein, Intg’s design approach (the studio looked after the interiors, while Urban Agency tackled the overall shell architecture) merges the refined luxury of a modern residential development with the spacious and somewhat utilitarian feel of a loft. Brighten Hannam will include a total of 144 units in its elegant high rise volume.
Brighten Hannam interiors by Intg
The structure’s clever design means that the loft interiors can be adjusted and customised by the residents, so as to appeal to various needs and requirements – from open-plan, flowing spaces to an approach that favours more privacy and the creation of more individual rooms. A selection of floorings and wall treatments can similarly flexibly respond to different interior design concepts.
Communal areas within the building are designed to have an intimate feel, using warm, rich colours and clever spatial separations so as to provide residents with the option of using the Brighten Hannam facilities with a certain privacy. Amenities range from private meeting rooms to wellness spaces and bespoke classes.
Intg, which was founded in 2016, may still be considered a young practice, but Cho and Song's flair and hard work have taken the brand from strength to strength since its inception. Projects such as Hana Bank’s minimalist private lounge and a Memphis-inspired Gangnam apartment (both in Seoul) have showcased the team's versatility and refined, contemporary take on interior design and architectural space, with Brighten Hannam now representing the studio’s first residential project of this scale.
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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor 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) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
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