GRANHAND Seogyo Store: Adaptive Reuse of a 1970s Seoul Residence into a Handcrafted Retail and Café Space by STUDIO MOTIF

Adaptive Reuse Retail Architecture in Seoul

Located in Seoul’s Yongsan District, the GRANHAND Seogyo Store is the flagship retail space for Korean perfume brand GRANHAND. Designed by STUDIO MOTIF, the project reinterprets a modest residential house built in the 1970s, transforming it into a contemporary commercial environment while preserving the building’s original flat plan and domestic scale. Rather than imposing a new architectural identity, the design embraces the existing structure, allowing memory, materiality, and craftsmanship to define the spatial experience.

The project occupies a total area of 237 square meters and unfolds across two levels. The ground floor houses the GRANHAND perfume store, while the upper floor accommodates KOMFORTABEL COFFEE, a café also operated by the brand. This dual program strengthens GRANHAND’s identity as a lifestyle brand, blending retail, hospitality, and sensory experience within a single architectural narrative.

Preserving the Domestic Plan

One of the defining strategies of the project is the decision to maintain the original household layout of the former residence. Instead of opening the interior into a single, large retail hall, STUDIO MOTIF retained the flat, room-based plan. These former domestic rooms now function as interconnected retail zones, encouraging varied customer movement and intimate engagement with the brand.

The commercial display system is subtly overlaid onto the residential plan. Display stands are arranged across the surface of the floor plan, allowing visitors to navigate the space freely rather than following a prescribed retail route. This approach creates multiple spatial sequences and offers customers diverse ways to encounter GRANHAND’s products, reinforcing the brand’s emphasis on personal, sensory discovery.

Craftsmanship as Design Language

Material selection and construction methods play a central role in shaping the store’s identity. On the first floor, the primary materials are glued laminated timber and jute fabric. The display stands are formed by stacking laminated timber, which was then hand-sanded to create solid, sculptural masses. These wooden elements function simultaneously as furniture, display infrastructure, and architectural features.

The ceiling is finished with layered jute fabric, applied directly on site and treated with paste and dye. Rather than striving for a perfectly uniform surface, the design celebrates subtle variations and textures, reinforcing the handmade quality of the space. Warm lighting filters through the fibrous ceiling, enhancing the tactile atmosphere of the perfume store.

Material Honesty and Spatial Contrast

The second floor café introduces a contrasting yet complementary material palette. Here, wooden sticks and exposed, hand-sanded concrete define the space. Each wooden element was processed directly on site and connected using traditional joint methods, emphasizing craftsmanship and material authenticity.

The existing concrete walls were carefully sanded by hand, with irregularities intentionally left visible. Instead of concealing imperfections, the architects chose to highlight the traces of time and construction, allowing the building’s history to remain legible. This raw material expression contrasts with the warmth of the timber elements, creating a calm and grounded environment suited to the café program.

A Hand-Built Retail Experience

Across both floors, all finishing work was executed using what the architects describe as a “crafty method.” This hands-on construction approach involved direct labor on site, reinforcing a close relationship between design intent, material behavior, and human touch. The result is a retail interior that feels tactile, intimate, and deeply connected to its making.

All photographs are works of Choi Yongjoon