Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Lotte Engineering & Construction, which are competing to win the redevelopment project for District 4 of the Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, with a total construction cost of 1.3 trillion won, have now faced off with teaser videos.
According to the construction industry on the 16th, the first to release a teaser video was Daewoo Engineering & Construction. On Feb. 9, Daewoo Engineering & Construction posted a video titled "THE SEONGSU 520: setting a new standard for luxury living" on the YouTube account "PRUGIO PRUGIO LIFE." The video opens with a man and a woman running along the Han River, then immediately shows a bird's-eye view. As the sketches transition to the actual building, it introduces community spaces such as a lounge and a pool.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction emphasized in the video description that it has a unique location with a "520m Han River view." It added, "On this infinite value, we add Daewoo Engineering & Construction's innovation," and wrote, "The one and only icon that owns the Han River in the most beautiful way, THE SEONGSU 520. It offers a life that faces the river's waves with the longest breath." As of the day, the view count stood at 3,969.
On the 6th, Lotte Engineering & Construction released a video titled "S70 - The pinnacle of LE-EL" on its YouTube channel "Okerotke." It did not directly mention Seongsu District 4, but speculation is strong that it is a related teaser. The video proceeds only with English narration, starting with, "Do you remember the moment you encountered the awe that stops your gaze?" It then shows grand natural scenery such as high mountains, lightning, and waterfalls, and reveals only the top floor of the apartment rendering at the end.
In the video description, Lotte Engineering & Construction wrote, "Sublime, the awe that stops your gaze," "Singular, the one and only unique value," and "State of the art, the moment when technology becomes art," and added only, "The pinnacle of LE-EL, beyond all expectations." The view count is 28,272, and unlike Daewoo Engineering & Construction, the comments are open, with 50 comments posted.
The two companies are locked in fierce competition, led by brand and design differentiation. Daewoo Engineering & Construction proposed "The Seongsu 520" as the complex name and emphasized a design plan that maximizes Han River views. For design, it collaborated with "Mayer Architects," founded by Pritzker Prize winner Richard Meier, often called the Nobel Prize of architecture. Daewoo Engineering & Construction proposed a construction cost of 1.3168 trillion won (10.99 million won per 3.3㎡), about 46 billion won lower than the 1.3628 trillion won (11.4 million won per 3.3㎡) provisional construction cost set by the association.
Lotte Engineering & Construction proposed applying its high-end brand with "Seongsu LE-EL" and unveiled a plan to develop the LE-EL Tower with a construction cost of 1.3628 trillion won. It also pledged to present a differentiated exterior design with David Chipperfield Architects, the firm founded by David Chipperfield, a Pritzker Prize–winning global architect. It also collaborated with Gensler, an exterior design firm that has built design capabilities through global supertall and mixed-use development projects.
The selection process for the construction contractor in Seongsu District 4 is currently delayed. Following a dispute between the association and Daewoo Engineering & Construction over the submission of bidding documents, the Seoul metropolitan government has launched additional inspections to check whether the contractor violated guidelines on individual promotion. The two companies previously faced off four years ago in the bidding war for Yongsan-gu's Hannam District 2, which ended in a win for Daewoo Engineering & Construction.
A construction industry official said, "In Seongsu District 4, the symbolic value of its prime location along the Han River is driving an intense battle of wills between the two companies, but stricter regulations, including Seoul's recent inspections for violations of individual promotion guidelines, are a variable." The official added, "Since both companies have joined hands with Pritzker Prize winners, the key will ultimately be who can give association members greater confidence that theirs will be the more unique landmark."