Rendering image of Seoripul Open Art Storage. Image provided by Herzog & de Meuron and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.Seoul will construct a large-scale art museum in Seoripul Park near the Supreme Court in Seocho-dong. The “Seoripul Open Art Storage,” set to open in 2028, is modeled after the Depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, which has both exhibition spaces and storage facilities.
Traditional museums typically exhibit only a small fraction, less than 5%, of their collections, keeping the rest in storage. Recently, museums have shifted towards opening, sharing, and utilizing cultural heritage beyond mere preservation.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to gather the collections of four affiliated museums – Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul Museum of History, Seoul Museum of Craft Art, and Seoul Hanseong Baekje Museum – totaling over 100,000 collections in the newly constructed Seoripul Open Art Storage. The Seoripul Open Art Storage aims to exhibit 100% of its holdings, including all artworks and items undergoing restoration.
The visible storage will cover a ground area of 5,800 square meters with a total floor area of 19,500 square meters. The construction cost is estimated at 1.26 trillion KRW, with the final design featuring two underground floors and seven above-ground floors. The museum’s architectural design is entrusted to the Swiss duo Herzog & de Meuron, renowned for designing the Tate Modern in London and the SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation in Korea.
