Samsung Museum

Dissimilar used a custom blackened stainless steel patina for the Jean Nouvel designed project in Seoul. The patina is an unusual finish for stainless steel which is more typically used for its reflective properties.

Samsung Museum
AJN / Jean Nouvel
Samoo Architects and Engineers
DMD Blackened Stainless
Seoul, South Korea

The Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art is a museum in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea, The museum was designed by AJN/Nouvel and is run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture.

The building’s facade was built using DMD Blackened stainless steel, fabricated into a custom facade, interior blackened steel, and soffits. This blackened stainless steel finish was developed by Dissimilar Metal Design as an alternative to blackened zinc or blackened steel.

Using stainless steel as a base material for the patina offers greater durability and versatility than regular blackened steel or zinc. The process used to blacken stainless steel is a proprietary patina developed by Dissimilar, and is also available on custom blackened stainless fasteners.

The museum comprises two parts that house traditional Korean art and contemporary art. The first part of the museum was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta and the second part of the museum by French architect Jean Nouvel and Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

Photography courtesy of AJN / Jean Nouvel and Samoo Architects and Engineers