AmorePacific moved into its new headquarters building in Yongsan, Seoul, recently, heralding in a new era for the 72-year-old cosmetics maker, which aims to be one of the world’s top five beauty companies. It is the third time the group has rebuilt its headquarters at the same location. The first was done in 1958, and the second building was erected in 1976. The latest building shows off the current standing of AmorePacific, which is on a roll in the global cosmetics market, going beyond its domestic turf in its previous era.
AmorePacific’s latest headquarters building symbolizes the cosmetic company’s insight into what it will hold in the future. The new building, looking like a moon-shaped jar of white porcelain, was designed by British architect David Chipperfield.
“Relocating a headquarters building is not just a physical movement, but its more significant to change the way people work and think,” said AmorePacific Chairman Suh Kyung-bae one week before the group moved from the previous Signature Tower in Cheonggaecheon into the brand-new building in Yongsan on Nov. 20.
Chairman Suh’s remarks may be construed as a call for efforts to overcome setbacks the group has suffered recently, such as sluggish domestic demand and a drop in sales in China.
Chairman Suh’s determination for change and innovation can be seen easily in a fully opened workplace. The new headquarters is designed to create an environment in which employees can discuss matters freely without sitting at partitioned desks.
The sixth through 21st floors of the new building are reserved for AmorePacific’s workplace. Each floor has space for one person to work anywhere. The headquarters also houses a cafeteria capable of accommodating about 800 employees simultaneously, a fitness center, a message parlor and other welfare facilities.
The tifth, 11th and 17th floors have an outdoor garden to allow AmorePacific employees to take a walk.
Levels of illumination are automatically readjusted at naturally-lighted workplaces to make employees feel comfortable while working.
Chairman Suh said, “(The workplace) is made into an open space to cater to communication and collaboration in an era of fast changes, and its’ a smart space in which all things can be done with an employee identification pass.”
He noted that the new building has employed measures to enhance their work & life balance.
Space to Communicate with Local Community
AmorePacific was located at 100, Hanggadae-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. In 1956, the group purchased the land from CEO Kim Dong-young, who made a fortune fromcosmeticsin the 1930s. The late founder Suh Sung-hwan of AmorePacific built its original headquarters on the site in 1958.
AmorePacific, which has come a long way, rebuilt the original headquarters by expanding the site. Chairman Suh’s rebuilding of a third headquarters in the same place reflects his father’s will to promote Korea’s beauty to the world, a group official said.
AmorePacific’s latest headquarters was conceived under the concept of “connectivity,” through which nature and city, local society, company, customers, AmorePacific executives and staff can communicate and sympathize with each other.
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