Urban Soap created by Ohk Studio is a series of 4 sculptural, multi-sensory soaps inspired by the architecture of a famous Seoul landmark, the Royal Palace. The handmade soaps focus on the shape and fragrance, conveying urban fragments through sight, smell and touch. Urban Soap will give a gentle natural fragrance in your home.
Seung Tae Oh and Meeso Kim are the design visionaries of Studio Ohk. Seung Tae is a graduate of Royal College of Art in Design Products, and Meeso is a product developer with experience at fashion companies in New York and London. After graduating from the RCA in 2017, Seung Tae found a design studio with Meeso with the aim of launching a long-term project called The City Projects, where they could develop new concepts and ideas inspired by different cities they live in.
The studio aims to visualize regional characteristics into products, interactions and experiences that offer delightful value and esthetics by combining their creative experiences.
closer look at the city
Soap was the material of choice due to its flexibility – incorporating different sensory experiences such as sight, smell and touch were key aspects of the design process. It started with recognising how the urban landscape is perceived. The authors wanted to take a closer look at the city and collect fragments to define a new product that would convey regional stories, images and experiences through an accessible medium.
The shapes and colours are drawn from both traditional and modern architectural elements of Seoul to showcase the vibrant scene of the city. The fragrances were curated and blended by the team to highlight the personality of the city.
Entirely Handcrafted
Studio Ohk collected numerous images of bridges, buildings, alleys andexpressways and used them as the main colour palette for Urban Soap. They curated and blended their fragrances for the collection to create a unique scent that reflects theatmosphere of the urban landscape.
Every aspect of Urban Soap is made by Studio Ohk, including 3d-printed models, moulds, prototypes, scents and more. Urban Soap can be used in the washroom, shower or kitchen. The soaps are a gentle and effective tool for everyday use and can even be used as air fresheners because of their scent.
The soap was mainly inspired by a famous Royal Palace. It emphasises the features of its irregular surface of stone floors, highlights the peculiarities of the roof tiles and shows iconic painted patterns. The perfume varies from a blend of bergamot and sandalwood, which gives off a fresh and sweet scent of a spring rain, to peppery, woody notes that mingle with warm flowers and take you for a walk in the palace at sunset.
Lacquer Series
Lacquer Series is a project that uses Korean lacquer technique with a modern approach. Inspired by the architectural elements of Hanok (Korean House), each module alludes to four main components of Hanok: base stone, wooden column, dancheong and giwa roof. The modules are designed to be stacked and separated to create different functions and designs.
Visit: Studio Ohk Official Website
