Hyundai Motor may change new headquarters design to three 50-story buildings

Hyundai Motor Group is said to be tilting towards a major change in its new headquarters blueprint of erecting South Korea’s tallest landmark in southern Seoul.

U.S-based architectural, urban planning and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) is reported to have embarked on a design of three 50-story buildings instead of the original concept of a 105-story skyscraper, according to industry sources on Tuesday.

The three buildings will likely be connected by a walkway and have a docking station for urban air mobility (UAM) to allow departure and arrival, sources said.

Once the basic design is completed, Hyundai E&C and Hyundai Motor Group’s other family units will review it to report the change to Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Hyundai Motor Group originally unveiled a plan of building the country’s tallest skyscraper for its headquarters in the country’s capital Seoul, standing 569 meters high. Office areas, accommodative facilities, cultural centers and other attractions like an observatory deck were included in the initial plan.

The project, however, spurred concerns over a possible hike in real estate prices of the already affluent Gangnam district, restrictions on air force unit’s operational capabilities and violation of a neighboring temple’s right to receive sunlight without overshadowing.

Hyundai Motor Group acquired the site for a whopping 10.55 trillion won ($9.58 billion) from the country’s state-run utility company Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) in September 2014. It obtained an approval for construction of its new headquarters six years later in May last year and promised to invest 1.75 trillion won in nine development projects for public infrastructure in Seoul.

To ease the financial burden estimated at 3.7 trillion won in total, Hyundai Motor Group has been on a search to invite outside investors to set up a special purpose company for joint development.

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