COSMO40

Character

Building 40 was supposed to disappear with the rest of the Cosmo Chemical complex in 2016. Instead, local figures recognized the value of the old sulfuric-acid recovery plant and kept it, turning the only surviving factory building into COSMO40

That survival matters because the original complex was enormous. Around 45 buildings once occupied roughly 76,000 square metres in Gajwa-dong, producing titanium dioxide and related chemicals for more than four decades. Building 40 handled the recovery of sulfuric acid used in the manufacturing process

The factory was also part of a less comfortable local history. COSMO40’s own archive notes that the plant supported jobs and exports while repeatedly drawing criticism over environmental pollution. The conversion therefore preserves an industrial workplace without pretending the old complex was simply a beloved landmark

The architectural response began with a practical problem: bringing the old factory fully up to current building codes would have required covering many of the surfaces that made its industrial character visible. The designers instead inserted a structurally independent new extension that passes through the old building without relying on its original frame

The experience

The result is easiest to understand in section. New circulation, elevators and lobby spaces form a ring-like addition; the old factory remains around them as a separate structural body

The lower Void Hall preserves a tall, largely open volume with mezzanine levels. New column bundles support the extension above and double as light elements. Higher up, the Hoist Hall keeps part of the old steel grating floor and the scale of the former machinery space, while folding doors can separate or reconnect the old and new areas

That separation produces the strongest moments in the building. New glass, painted steel and bright circulation elements sit against worn factory surfaces without trying to mimic them. Later interior work pushed this further with colored stairs, walkways and new program areas layered over preserved grating and structural traces

The building is still used as a flexible cultural venue rather than a fixed museum. Exhibitions, performances, markets and events move through spaces that once supported chemical production, while the third-floor lounge occupies part of the former industrial volume

History

The site’s industrial story began in the early 1970s when the company then known as Korea Titanium Industrial moved its headquarters and plant to Gajwa-dong. The company later became Cosmo Chemical in 2003 and remained in Incheon until deciding to relocate production in 2016

Most of the factory complex was demolished quickly after the relocation decision. Building 40 survived because local residents and private actors argued for another use instead of demolition

Renovation followed in 2018 under architect Yang Soo-in of Lifethings, with later interior phases by SML and others. The project opened as a cultural complex that same year and subsequently received the 2019 Incheon Architecture Award grand prize and a Korean Architecture Award commendation

In 2025, Incheon formally selected the former Cosmo Chemical complex/COSMO40 as an Incheon Regional Heritage site, recognizing both its industrial history and the adaptive-reuse project

The building’s preservation is therefore not a simple factory-to-gallery conversion. It records the disappearance of an industrial complex, the survival of one numbered plant building and an architectural strategy designed specifically to keep the scars of the old structure visible

Before you go

COSMO40 is a working cultural venue, not a fixed exhibition sequence. The architecture is always present, but exhibitions, performances and private events change, so the building itself is the most reliable reason to visit even when the program varies