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Construction work on the crown of 123-storey Lotte Tower in Seoul is progressing slowly but surely. The mixed-use tower will incorporate 24 floors of state-of-the-art office space, 25 floors of hotel space, and 32 floors of residential accommodations for employees in the building. The top levels of the building will feature an outdoor skywalk and cafe, as well as multiple levels of observation decks, which will likely make the building a popular tourist attraction.
The builders of the project are the Lotte Group, the fifth largest conglomerate in the Korean peninsula who have their hands in a variety of ventures including retail, hospitality, and chemical plants. The architecture firm behind the project is Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, who designed the building to resemble traditional Korean pottery and paint strokes.
Since our last update, a few more levels have been completed on the crown, which was designed to resemble two gently curved protruding fins that look to be protecting an inner building top and deck. The Lotte World Tower has been designed with the environment and a LEED Gold certification in mind, with geothermal systems that take advantage of the River Han's temperature fluctuations. Due to the region's high chance of natural disaster occurrences, the building is also fitted with the technology to withstand up to a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and 128 mph wind speeds.
The future of the Lotte World Tower is currently uncertain due to a recent raid of Lotte Group. The building is situated only 3.5 miles from a crucial military base built strategically to protect the area from any attacks from North Korea. During the planning stages, this kept the building from being approved for about 10 years. The military was concerned that the tall building would obstruct their capabilities, but the project was green-lit on the condition that a runway on the base be shifted by three degrees. However, a recent development in the news cycle in Korea has uncovered that the Lotte Group allegedly lobbied and paid government and military officials to get the project approved. Subsequently, prosecutors are currently looking into these allegations of bribery. Further making the building's future unclear is the recent arrest of the man in charge of building the skyscraper, Noh Byeong-yong, who was charged for selling toxic products while serving as Lotte Mart's CMO.
We will keep you updated as new information regarding the project comes to light. In the meantime, additional information and renderings can be found in our Database page for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
