▴ Following the 1994 original design, Gansam also led the remodeling — carrying forward and reinterpreting the spatial value of the existing architecture

▴ The oceanfront experience extends to the lobby, lounge, dining and a 100m infinity pool

Sheraton Jeju, remodeled to a design by Gansam, held its grand opening on September 14.

Sheraton Jeju is a project in which Gansam remodeled, more than three decades on, a hotel it had originally designed in 1994. It carries forward the spatial value and sense of place of the existing building, while reconfiguring the spatial structure and the experience of stay for changed travel patterns and hospitality environments.

The remodeling began from what had changed over those three decades — the environment around the hotel and the way it is used.

At the time of the original design in 1994, the northern coast of Jeju was strongly affected by high winds and irregular weather. Gansam placed a large atrium inside a building some 200 meters long and organized the guest rooms and various programs around it. It was an ‘Atrium Hotel,’ planned so that activities could continue through all four seasons while reducing the influence of the outdoor environment.

The environment around the hotel then changed. Along the Tapdong coast, which once had to contend with strong winds, waves and repeated overtopping, a breakwater about 1.1 kilometers long was built in 2020 to reduce overtopping damage.

The way travelers come to Jeju has changed as well. Where group tours and MICE demand were once the main market, tourism on Jeju is now being reorganized around independent travel. According to the Jeju Tourism Organization’s 2025 survey of visitors to Jeju (‘2025년 제주 방문관광객 실태조사’), 96.8 percent of domestic visitors and 91.9 percent of international visitors came as independent travelers.

In response to these changes, Gansam retained the spatial value of the existing atrium while extending the spatial experience — which had faced inward — toward the sea of Jeju.

The orientation of the spaces was turned so that the Jeju sea, previously viewed mainly from the guest rooms, can also be experienced in the main shared spaces including the lobby, lounge and dining areas, and a 100-meter infinity pool was newly created along the water. The value of the oceanfront, once concentrated in the guest rooms, now extends across the whole course of a stay — arriving at the hotel, staying, dining and resting.

As a result, Sheraton Jeju has changed from an ‘Atrium Hotel,’ which created a city-like environment of stay inside the building, into an ‘Oceanfront Hotel’ that draws the Jeju sea into the center of the hotel experience.

“I believe good remodeling is not about erasing the existing architecture, but about selecting the values that remain valid over time and connecting them to the next era,” said Hyosang Lee, architect at Gansam. “We inherited the existing atrium-centered structure, while newly connecting the shared spaces and the circulation of stay so that the Jeju sea can be experienced naturally throughout the hotel.”

Gansam has continued to take on remodeling projects that reinterpret the value and potential of existing architecture. It recently served as the local design partner for Centre Pompidou Hanwha, which reconfigured an annex of the 63 Building into a multi-purpose cultural complex, and has carried out a range of remodeling projects across hotels, offices and cultural facilities, including Mondrian Seoul Itaewon, The Plaza Hotel and Hanwha Jangyodong Office.