About this place
OMA's flagship Genesis automotive showroom in Samsung-dong — a two-storey anti-vitrine retail space that redefines car showrooms as curated, intimate brand environments.
Genesis Gangnam opened in January 2018 as the first standalone headquarters-owned showroom for Hyundai's Genesis luxury marque, designed by OMA with partner Chris van Duijn. The project departs radically from the glass-box vitrine typology that dominates automotive retail: the building presents only small, carefully composed glimpses to the street, turning the expected logic of display inside out. Internally, the 1,410 m² two-storey space is organised around what OMA calls "program boxes" — discrete spatial volumes that curate each Genesis model as if it were an object in a gallery setting rather than merchandise on a forecourt. The design acknowledges a shift in consumer behaviour: with roughly 90% of visitors arriving having already selected their vehicle online, the showroom no longer needs to sell; instead it must perform, confirm, and impress. Lighting, material temperature, acoustics (developed with specialist consultants) and even ambient scent are orchestrated to reinforce the brand's identity. The project is significant as an early prototype for a new retail typology — one that treats the car brand as a cultural proposition rather than a product category. Its influence has since shaped Genesis showroom roll-outs globally. For visitors, the space rewards slow movement: the compressed entry sequence gives way to surprisingly open double-height volumes, and the cars themselves feel more like sculpture than inventory.
Architecture · Contemporary ArchitectureInterior · ShowroomRetail · Product Showroom