Heatherwick reveals twisted Humanise Wall at Seoul Architecture Biennale

British designer Thomas Heatherwick has unveiled the 90-metre-long, four-storey-high Humanise Wall as the centrepiece of the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.

Revealed at the opening ceremony of the biennale, which Heatherwick is general director for, the twisted wall is located in Songhyeon Green Plaza park in central Seoul.

Named Humanise Wall, the giant steel structure is covered in a combination of images of buildings that broadly demonstrate the ideals of the Humanise campaign, along with pieces commissioned for the event.

Designed by Heatherwick Studio, the wall was created to grab the public's attention and make them aware that the event is happening in the city.

"The challenge of many city-wide creativity festivals is that actually, when you speak to a normal citizen and ask them whether they know that there is a city-wide festival of design happening, most people, other than the people in the bubble, won't even know it's going on," Heatherwick told Dezeen in an interview ahead of the event.

"So in a busy city, how do you actually let citizens really know? You grab people's attention."

Heatherwick designed the wall to act as a billboard that would start a conversation with the people of Seoul. Those who want to engage further, or learn more, can read the text on the wall or continue to the other exhibits, which are located in the nearby Seoul Hall of Urbanism & Architecture

"The Humanize Wall, in a sense, is the introduction panel to give permission to for everyone to come together," explained Heatherwick.

"It's almost like a magazine, but 16-metres high, and it becomes a pavilion in the middle by being twisted through 180 degrees that frames a sort of performance space, or sun shelter, or rain shelter."

Constructed with a steel structure, the twisted wall was clad in 1,428 steel tiles. It is covered in text and images that were designed to act as a "call and response" drawing on the thinking behind the Humanise campaign.

The side facing the park sets out Heatherwick's view of the current state of architecture, including an introduction, a section on the "blandemic" and images of 400 interesting buildings by 110 architects from around the world.

While the side facing the roads highlights what Heatherwick believes needs to be done, including a section called "what can we do" and nine responses created by creatives from Seoul.

Speaking to Dezeen ahead of the biennale, Heatherwick said that the event was  "a very sincere attempt to invite a bigger conversation".

The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism takes place from 26 September to 18 November 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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