Palace has recreated London’s brutalist Southbank skatepark in its new Seoul store

The concrete undercroft of the Southbank Centre is the spiritual home of British skatewear brand Palace: co-founders Gareth Skewis and Lev Tanju spent much of their formative years ‘hanging out and skateboarding’ in the space, a brutalist assemblage of ramps, ledges, stairs and pillars that has been a playground for skaters for over four decades. ‘I spent so many years there,’ Tanju tells Wallpaper* of the Thameside space, which was preserved as part of the ‘Long Live Southbank’ campaign in 2013. ‘I met so many people there and Palace wouldn’t exist without Southbank.’

Opening tomorrow (8 February 2025), a new Palace store in Seoul seeks to recreate and celebrate the ‘mighty Southbank’ in a collaboration with the multidisciplinary designer Steve Oh (previously Oh worked in the research and development team at Google ATAP, before founding design agency OSTVO in 2023). The brief, says Skewis was to ‘integrate the brutalism of Southbank into a Palace store with touches of luxury’. As such, the store is an exercise in contrast: concrete pillars and ceilings counterpoint a gleaming grey marble floor, while Southbank’s block-like benches are recreated in monolithic slabs of red marble (‘like Southbank could only dream of’, reads the press release in Palace’s typically irreverent style).

Inside Palace’s Southbank-inspired Seoul store

‘[It’s] is a significant landmark in brutalist architecture, and my goal was to capture its essence within the space,’ says Oh. ‘During my on-site visit to the Southbank Skate Park and the Queen Elizabeth Hall above it, I focused on the raw energy of the environment – I wanted to celebrate the unique cultural and historical significance of this space, particularly as the birthplace of Palace Skateboards.

‘Southbank was shaped by a group of visionary young architects from the London County Council, who had the freedom to push boundaries,’ Oh continues. ‘One of the design elements I admire most is how they transformed concrete – typically cold and industrial – by casting it in Baltic pine moulds, imprinting the wood’s rough grain onto the surface. This technique gave the material unexpected warmth and texture, which I wanted to honour and recreate.’

‘The pillars are such an iconic part of growing up at Southbank, the team worked really hard to mimic the wood-like texture of the concrete,’ adds Tanju. ‘We wanted it to feel welcoming. I love sitting at Southbank so I plan to love sitting in this shop.’

More playful elements populate the space, like a totemic ‘English bulldog sculpture’ at the centre of the store, while a ‘P’-shape light – in Palace’s signature slanted font, part of Fergus Purcell’s original emblematic Tri-Ferg logo – hangs over a display of colourful skate decks. ‘What makes this partnership so rewarding is the freedom to experiment and have fun with the process,’ says Oh. ‘It’s motivating to work with a brand that is committed to creativity – it encourages me to create a unique space that challenges the norms of retail.’

The store is Palace’s second in Seoul, following the opening of its first outpost in the city in February 2024 (located in the Apgujeong district, at 486 sq m, that marked the brand’s largest store to date). ‘We have a lot of fans here,’ says Tanju. ‘It doesn’t feel like any other place – I love the food, I love the people, we have some great friends there now.’ Skewis agrees: ‘It’s got an amazing skate scene – it’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been.’

Palace Seoul, 30, Hongik-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

palaceskateboards.com