Lotte World Tower
Lotte World Tower, is a 123-story, supertall skyscraper, located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea. It is the sixth-tallest building in the world, the tallest in OECD countries and in South Korea, and also the first in South Korea to be over 100 stories tall. It was the fifth-tallest in the world when completed. The tower opened to the public on April 3, 2017.
A "Sky Bridge Tour" is located on the roof of Lotte World Tower at, which is about the same height of One World Trade Center in New York City, the tallest building in the United States.
History
After 13 years of planning and site preparation, the tower gained final approval to start construction by the government in November 2010 and the first groundbreaking activities of piling and frame assembly were observed at the construction site in March 2012.On December 31, 2015, the LED-pixels of the façade displayed the number "2016".
On April 3, 2017, Lotte shot off fireworks to celebrate the tower's official opening.
On January 1, 2018, Lotte shot off fireworks with a LED laser show for seven minutes to celebrate New Year's Day and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Design
On March 17, 2016, before the final phase of external construction, the diagrid lantern-shaped roof structure was completed. The roof structure was constructed with steel counterparts that are each and weigh 20 tons. The counterparts were made up of bent metal panels that are thick. The roof structure itself is high and covers floors 107–123. Approximately 3,000 tons of steel parts, a high-precision 64t tower crane and GPS alignment systems, as well as welding technicians, were used in the construction of the roof.The roof structure is engineered to withstand its weight without reinforcing pillars, endure earthquakes up to a magnitude of 9 under the Richter magnitude scale, and winds up to.
The exterior of pale-coloured glass draws inspiration from Korean ceramics and features accents of metal filigree.
The tower incorporates several environmental sustainability features, including an advanced heat pump system for heating and cooling, which utilizes 720 geothermal probes installed about 200 meters underground as well as water from the Han River. Additional technologies include heat-insulating glass with passive shading systems, photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and rainwater harvesting.
Floor plans
Seoul Sky occupies the top seven levels. Floors 117–118 are the entrance and view floor, including a glass floor and sky show on 118. Sky Friends Cafe and the sky terrace are located on floors 119–120. Seoul Sky Cafe and a souvenir shop are on floors 121–122, and the premium lounge bar, 123 lounge, is on the top floor at.The observatory charges an admission for entry. The skylight of Seoul Sky was the highest glass floor observatory as of the tower's completion. The tower and One World Trade Center have concluded an operation and technical service agreement.
The operating hours of the observatory are divided into two periods. From Sunday to Thursday, it is open from 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM. On Fridays, Saturdays, and public holidays, it is open from 10:30 AM to 11:00 PM.
| Floor | Use |
| 125 | Mechanical & Rooftop |
| 124 | Mechanical |
| 123 | Premium Lounge Bar |
| 122 | Seoul Sky Cafe, Angel in Us Cafe |
| 121 | Observation exit, Seoul Sky Shop |
| 120 | Observation exit, Sky Terrace |
| 119 | Observation, Character Dessert Cafe |
| 118 | Observation entrance, Sky Deck |
| 117 | Observation entrance |
| 116 | Mechanical floor |
| 115 | Mechanical floor |
| 114 | Private office |
| 113 | Private office |
| 112 | Private office |
| 111 | Private office |
| 110 | Private office |
| 109 | Private office |
| 108 | Private office |
| 107 | Private office Lobby, Signiel Club |
| 106 | Mechanical |
| 105 | Mechanical |
| 104 | Mechanical |
| 103 | Mechanical |
| 102 | Refuge Area |
| 101 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 100 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 99 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 98 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 97 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 96 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 95 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 94 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 93 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 92 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 91 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 90 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 89 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 88 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 87 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Guestrooms |
| 86 | Hotel Spa & Hotel Facilities |
| 85 | Indoor pool, fitness centre, sauna. |
| 84 | Mechanical floor |
| 83 | Refuge area |
| 82 | Bicena Korean restaurant |
| 81 | Stay French restaurant, Bicena Korean restaurant |
| 80 | Signiel Seoul Hotel lobby |
| 79 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Lobby |
| 78 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Ballroom |
| 77 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Ballroom |
| 76 | Signiel Seoul Hotel Ballroom |
| 75 | Mechanical |
| 74 | Mechanical |
| 73 | Mechanical |
| 72 | Mechanical |
| 71 | Signiel Residences |
| 70 | Signiel Residences |
| 69 | Signiel Residences |
| 68 | Signiel Residences |
| 67 | Signiel Residences |
| 66 | Signiel Residences |
| 65 | Signiel Residences |
| 64 | Signiel Residences |
| 63 | Signiel Residences |
| 62 | Signiel Residences |
| 61 | Signiel Residences |
| 60 | Refuge area |
| 59 | Mechanical floor |
| 58 | Signiel Residences |
| 57 | Signiel Residences |
| 56 | Signiel Residences |
| 55 | Signiel Residences |
| 54 | Signiel Residences |
| 53 | Signiel Residences |
| 52 | Signiel Residences |
| 51 | Signiel Residences |
| 50 | Signiel Residences |
| 49 | Signiel Residences |
| 48 | Signiel Residences |
| 47 | Signiel Residences |
| 46 | Signiel Residences |
| 45 | Signiel Residences |
| 44 | Signiel Residences |
| 43 | Signiel Residences Lobby, Fitness Centre, Indoor Golf, Ballroom. |
| 42 | Signiel Residences Lobby, Fitness Centre, Indoor Golf, Ballroom. |
| 41 | Mechanical floor |
| 40 | Refuge area |
| 39 | Mechanical floor |
| 38 | Office |
| 37 | Office |
| 36 | Office |
| 35 | Office |
| 34 | Office |
| 33 | Office |
| 32 | Office |
| 31 | Seoul Sky 31 Food Court, Seoul Sky 31 Convencion Centre. |
| 30 | Office |
| 29 | Office |
| 28 | Office |
| 27 | Office |
| 26 | Office |
| 25 | Office |
| 24 | Office |
| 23 | Mechanical floor |
| 22 | Refuge area |
| 21 | Mechanical floor |
| 20 | Office |
| 19 | Office |
| 18 | Office |
| 17 | Office |
| 16 | Office |
| 15 | Office |
| 14 | Office |
| 13 | Mechanical floor |
| 12 | Lotte Financial Centre, Hana Financial Investment, KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank, Lotte World Tower Banking Centre. |
| 11 | BGN Eyeclinic |
| 10 | Lotte World Medical Centre |
| 9 | Lotte Duty Free Shop |
| 8 | Lotte Duty Free Shop |
| 7 | Lotte Museum of Art |
| 6 | Fitness platform |
| 5 | Lotte World Tower publicity center, Public relation office, Press room. |
| 4 | Mechanical floor, store room, staff restricted area. |
| 3 | Mechanical floor, store room, staff restricted area. |
| 2 | Lotte World Office Lobby, Lotte World Management. |
| 1 | Signiel Hotel lobby, Signiel Residence Lobby. |
| B1 | Observation Gallery, Lotte World Tower Emergency operation center, Drop-off, Seoul Sky shop, Signature Pharmacy |
| B2 | Observation Entrance, Parking Lot, Loading Bay, Service Office. |
| B3 | Lotte World Parking |
| B4 | Lotte World Parking |
| B5 | Lotte World Parking |
| B6 | Mechanical floor & Loading Bay. |
Incidents and accidents
Safety issues
In 2013 and 2014, three construction workers died during the construction of the tower, and an executive director of Lotte's construction arm was given a suspended sentence of eight months in prison in 2016 for his role in neglecting safety measures at the site. In December 2014, the government of Seoul ordered the mall and cinema complex at the base of the tower, which opened before completion of the tower, to be closed for five months after water was found leaking from an internal aquarium. Independent engineers who assessed the building found that the issues bore little relation to the overall structural integrity of the building and the mall and cinema complex reopened in 2015.Illegal entries and climbing
In 2016, two men from Ukraine illegally climbed the under-construction Lotte World Tower via its stairs, and one of them free solo climbed up the crane to the top. Lotte World Tower had advance knowledge of their interest in climbing the tower and their entering the country, and responded with the posting of approximately 400 security agents around the construction site. Posters with the photos of the two stating they were banned from the building were plastered around the construction site.On June 12, 2023, a 24-year-old British man illegally climbed the tower without ropes from the ground. The building security discovered him on the 42nd floor at above ground at 7:50 am. While he was taking a break on the 72nd floor, the police stopped him on the 73rd floor at above ground by using a building maintenance unit at 8:47 am. After his arrest, he said that he had planned the climb for six months.