Renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Associates have completed the design for the Busan Lotte Tower, a striking glass skyscraper that rises from the former City Hall site in South Korea's coastal city of Busan. The fluid tower stands at the strategic meeting point of land and sea, with its distinctive form shaped by the surrounding harbor and the dynamic patterns of movement that define this major port city.
The tower's most distinctive feature is its facade, which captures the natural rhythm of waves created by passing ships and expresses Busan's deep maritime identity through innovative texture and fluid, reflective surfaces. Horizontal bands ripple across the building's exterior, tracing a continuous line that wraps around the entire structure. These curved bands strategically blur the traditional distinction between spandrel and vision glass, softening the building's vertical rise into a fluid gesture that mirrors the ever-changing surface of the sea.
Kengo Kuma and Associates conceived the Busan Lotte Tower as a vertical stack of curved transparent volumes, creating what the architects call a "Vertical Landscape Along the Port." This vertical composition is reflected throughout the building's internal program, with each layer subtly offset to suggest continuous motion. The stacking technique produces a dynamic interplay of concave and convex surfaces that echo the natural undulation of ocean waves.
The carefully selected materials – including glass, aluminum, and finely detailed louvers – allow natural light to shimmer across the facade while maintaining a calm, measured rhythm that helps temper the building's impressive scale. The glass transitions from completely transparent to gently tinted sections, designed to mirror the changing light and colors of Busan's coastal sky throughout different times of day.
At the tower's upper levels, the horizontal lines of the facade gradually dissolve into slender fins that function as sophisticated louvers. These architectural elements filter both sunlight and wind, creating a unique transitional space at the rooftop observatory where the city, sea, and sky converge in a single panoramic view. The observatory appears to float above the bustling harbor, its lightweight structure remaining open to the shifting coastal air and the endless horizon beyond.
Kuma's architectural approach for the Busan Lotte Tower deliberately avoids monumentality, instead favoring visual and conceptual continuity with the surrounding natural landscape. The tower reflects its coastal context rather than asserting stark contrast with it, allowing the natural movement of light and water to animate its surfaces throughout the day and seasons.
When viewed from the port, the building reads as a vertical extension of the natural shoreline, with its shimmering facade absorbing and reflecting the subtle hues of both sunrise and dusk. In the evening hours, soft interior lighting brings the horizontal design lines into subtle relief, creating the visual impression of an illuminated current rising through the entire height of the tower. From street level, the curved glass volumes frame glimpses of human activity inside, successfully linking the rhythm of urban life with the broader natural cadence of the harbor.
The project team includes key members Seungjun Lee, Doyup Lee, Daihoon Kim, Cheuk Lam Chan, Rikuro Sakaushi, Edward WooHyun Chung, and Fumitake Suzuki handling computer graphics. Construction is being handled by Lotte Construction, with structural engineering provided by ARUP and CNP, facility design by Samoo Architects & Engineers, exterior work by LHYn, and illumination design by EONSLD. The project represents a significant addition to Busan's skyline and continues Kuma's philosophy of creating architecture that harmonizes with its natural environment.
