The Prada Transformer is an unusual building which has one of four different apparent shapes, depending on the function for which the building is needed at the moment. The building is roughly in the shape of a

tetrahedron In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ...

Cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname), ...

rotate the building so that different surfaces of the tetrahedron face downward, thereby changing the building's form and function. The different faces of the "tetrahedron" are actually shapes other than triangles. The building's base is a

hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexagon A ''regular hexagon'' h ...

when used for a fashion exhibition, a rectangle when used as a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

, a cross when used for an

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exh ...

and a circle when used for a special event. The building was funded by

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and brandin ...

, and designed by

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a r ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

firm

Office for Metropolitan Architecture The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international architectural firm with offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. The firm is currently led by eight partners - Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van L ...

. The building is located in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, next to the

Gyeonghui Palace Gyeonghui Palace (in Korean: ''Gyeonghuigung'', literally ''Palace of Serene Harmony'') is a palace located in Seoul, South Korea. It was one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the Joseon Dynasty. History Construction began in the 1600s duri ...

. The building was first used for the fashion exhibition "Waist Down - Skirts by Miuccia Prada", which began April 25, 2009. Its form and function was first changed on June 26, 2009, into a movie theater.

External links

Prada Transformer official web site
Buildings and structures completed in 2009 Rem Koolhaas buildings Buildings and structures in Seoul {{SouthKorea-struct-stub