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A client team took a few IDEO designers out to a local restaurant where they dined on barbecued eel under the trees. At this traditional eatery, waiters deliver an entire table to diners’ platform, with the dishes prearranged on them. 

The Prada Transformer is the latest design by Rem Koolhaas. The portable steel form can be rotated to serve various uses. A cross shape can be the ground plane for a catwalk show. Flip to the circular side down and you have a gallery. Square side down and you have a film theater. This massive structure can be flipped onto any side in just a few hours. 

Heyri, a new planned city outside Seoul, is inhabited by artists and creatives. It is home to some of Korea’s most cutting-edge architecture, including a concrete wall cast around a tree.

Most of Seoul’s residents live in high-rise housing, and often these buildings have the logo of the construction company or developer painted on the side. Just as car brands speak to one’s personality in American culture, apartment brand name is second only to location as the most important factor in buying a home in Seoul. 

This house outside Seoul demonstrates the city’s amazingly eclectic blend of architectural style. The Tudor-style awning is supported by an Ionic Greek column beside some Georgian quoining brickwork.

The Jamsil Olympic Stadium (built for the 1988 Summer Olympics) decorated with garlands of used plastic items.

On pleasant Saturdays in Seoul, locals get their mountaineering gear, take the subway to the outskirts of the city and hike up the hills. It’s very interesting how people in big cities adapt, modify, and reuse public spaces for recreation.

In Seoul, some police officers wear casual clothing (polo shirts and baseball caps) and do not carry weapons. The goal of public safety can be approached in many ways.