Seoul’s bustling streets seem far away from the Milmila Yoga Center, which uses the contrast of concrete and wood to create a peaceful space for meditation in the city’s heart.
100A Associates designed the wellness space, which it says ‘reflects the physical properties of a tree that has been carefully trimmed to focus on the unity and communion of the self.’
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_10.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_12.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_11.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_03-1024x682.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_09-1024x683.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_05-1024x683.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_06-1024x683.jpg)
Photography: Jae-yoon Kim
Yoga rooms are lined floor-to-ceiling with wood and framed by large windows that look out onto the studio’s outdoor space. The city’s presence can be felt via a rough stone pillar that juts into the studio – which is tucked away behind a steel entranceway, reached via a long climb uphill.
Practitioners can choose to workout in several spaces across the yoga studio, including the grass-screened garden or a pebbly roof terrace looking over the nearby Mt Namsan. The balance between city and nature is further emphasised in Milmila’s bathroom, where a moss-covered boulder supports a sink.
![A stone pillar juts into the yoga studio offering structural support for the building and connecting the manmade with the natural](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_08.jpg)
‘Soft elements, heavy objects, and the flexibility of the boundary where nature interacts help you experience the flexibility of the body and the openness of emotions,’ explains 100A Associates.
Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
![The Yoga studio uses a range of textures to enliven the five senses: wooden ceilings, concrete pullars and steel supports also reflect the connection between the manmade and the natural](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_07.jpg)
![Oversized window panes overlook zen gardens in the Yoga Studio's grounds](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_02.jpg)
![The bathroom features a sink that rests atop a moss-covered boulder](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Milmila-Yoga-Center_01.jpg)