A sanctuary between sky and memory

Signiel Seoul, a panoramic five-star hotel featuring a Michelin-starred restaurant, occupies the upper 26 floors of the Lotte World Tower. Since 2017, this 555-metre skyscraper has dominated the city’s skyline and remains the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the world.

In contrast to the spectacular nature of its glass-and-steel container, Layered Seoul takes a delicate approach, navigating the space between tradition and minimalism. This 270-square-metre renovation on the 65th floor was designed by Sangyoon Kim’s studio, Listen Communication, and completed in 2025. The project translates the concept of “layered time” into architecture, superimposing memory, craftsmanship and contemporary language to create a silent, introverted domestic landscape deeply rooted in Korean culture.

The spatial layout is directly inspired by the hanok, or traditional Korean house. Its sophisticated identity is defined by a blend of functional, symbolic and environmental elements, using flexible modular structures and natural local materials like rammed earth, stone, mulberry paper and wood. The hanok – a long-standing area of research for Listen Communication – is reinterpreted here in a vertical context. It serves as the compositional blueprint for fluid spatial sequences, weightless thresholds, visual continuity and a constant dialogue between the interior, the light and the urban panorama. Sliding partitions in wood and mulberry paper, ceilings that blend timber and paper and the calibrated use of indirect light evoke a meditative way of living that is simultaneously removed from, yet immersed in, the metropolitan frenzy.

The true structural heart of the project is wood, selected and installed both as a material and a sensory device. The surfaces are intentionally tactile, evoking the scent, touch and sense of time characteristic of traditional Korean architecture, all brought to life through expert craftsmanship. The grain of the wood, the juxtaposition with stone and the artisanal care of the bespoke furniture build a spatial grammar based on slowness and material honesty. In this respect, the studio’s work stands out for its ability to integrate traditional craftsmanship with contemporary precision, moving beyond the risk of a merely aesthetic reinterpretation of tradition.

Italian ceramics from Caesar play a strategic role in this narrative: “We chose Caesar Ceramics to bridge the gap between Seoul’s modern skyline and Korea’s tranquil traditions. The stone-like textures offer a material honesty that integrates with our hanok-inspired layers to create a meditative retreat. These sophisticated surfaces embody a form of ‘quiet luxury’ where natural dignity and Italian craftsmanship coexist perfectly within this refined urban sanctuary.” The floors feature Slab2 Ice – a contemporary reinterpretation of slate – in a 120×120 cm format, ensuring visual continuity and a sense of perceptual stability. The same material, applied to the walls in large 120×278 cm panels, reinforces the cohesive reading of the space. In the kitchen, 12 mm thick Olos slabs are used for the worktops in the Comblanchien colour – inspired by a luminous white French stone – while in the bathroom, 6 mm slabs precisely follow the geometry of the various volumes. Italian ceramics thus become a quiet yet expressive material, capable of engaging in a meaningful dialogue with both wood and Korean tradition.