Heritage meets modernity in Van Cleef & Arpels’ Seoul maison

Van Cleef & Arpels has once again partnered with Jouin Manku studio, this time on the creation of its Seoul maison, in a vast new space nodding to both French and Korean design codes. The striking building is encased in celadon, a traditional Korean ceramic, and cast aluminium, in a considered marriage of the old and the new.

Embracing nature: Van Cleef & Arpels’ Seoul maison

‘Given the importance of closeness to nature in Korean culture, the guiding principle of this project was to create a mountain in Seoul, a small mountain with gardens at different levels,’ says the studio of the Korean influences that run throughout. ‘So, we created this jewel case in the heart of an ultra-mineral city, featuring a delicate, protected, and omnipresent garden, which represents the interdependence between the building and nature.’ 

Nature is also a frequent inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels, which depicts flora and fauna in brightly coloured precious gems. ‘The main inspiration was obviously the oneiric world of Van Cleef & Arpels, and how to transcribe this atmosphere into the building itself. The idea was for this house to be a fully-fledged Van Cleef & Arpels ambassador for Korean customers, so that they could instinctively understand the very fairytale, natural spirit that defines Van Cleef & Arpels.’

Creating the building during Covid proved challenging, as did shaping the exterior. ‘Getting all the craftsmen to work together was also complex, especially for the facade, which is a technically highly sophisticated object due to the contrast between the celadon and the extruded aluminium structure, which, nevertheless, creates a unified whole in the end. Ceramic is a living material, which is not precise. Because of the firing process, the result is not predictable; it can change colour as well as shape, which is not compatible with placing it on a rigorously rigid structure. This encounter between industry and craft, tradition and innovation, was not an easy one. Another challenge was to bring nature into the heart of the boutique. Thanks to the landscaper STL – Seo-Ahn Total landscape – this challenge was successfully met so as not to be too burdensome in terms of care for the teams on site.’

jouinmanku.com