True Beauty

M Moser Associates injects unique Gangnam styling into the fully refurbished offices for beauty giant L'oréal in Seoul.

- Rebecca Lo

Most may understandably associate Seoul’s CBD with Psy’s 2012 smash hit Gangnam Style, where ASEM Tower acts as backdrop in the accompanying record-shattering music video. Open in 2000, one of the building’s anchor tenants is L’oréal. The Paris-headquartered beauty giant occupies 5,382 sqm across floors 31 through 33 with zero wish to relocate. Yet it needed refreshed premises to reflect its evolving business while underscoring its core values of collaboration and sustainability within brand-infused surrounds for approximately 500 people.

Hong Kong-headquartered M Moser Associates has designed L’oréal’s premises for more than two decades; its Shanghai studio won the tender for L’oréal Seoul during the pandemic. It was serendipity that lead designer Jane Choi was residing in her hometown during the bid, allowing for face-to-face presentations with L’oréal decision makers. “Although the company’s senior management and stakeholders are predominantly French, it owns many international brands,” explains Choi. “We could not push French elements — especially not in its Asian offices. Instead, we helped incorporate contemporary interpretations of traditional Korean aesthetics into the renovated offices. Spaces adhered to global guidelines while exuding local elements.”