KG Steel applies X-TONE cladding to Ulsan's Jangseongpo observatory 'The Wave'

KG Steel said Wednesday it has applied the "no-wave emboss" finish from its X-TONE color steel brand to the exterior cladding of The Wave, a maritime observatory in Ulsan's Jangseongpo district.

Built within the Jangseongpo Whale Culture Special Zone in Nam-gu, The Wave is a public mixed-use cultural facility housing a ticket office for whale-watching cruise vessels, office space and a maritime observation deck. Its architectural design draws on the history and regional character of Jangseongpo, once the heart of South Korea's whaling industry.

The building won the grand prize at the 2026 Korea Timber Architecture Awards last month and took the top honor at the 2026 Ulsan Metropolitan City Architecture Awards on Oct. 14.

KG Steel said it proposed the no-wave emboss — a product featuring a fine embossed surface pattern — in response to the architect's goal of capturing the distinctive skin texture of baleen whales on the building's exterior. The three-dimensional surface texture complements the structure's streamlined silhouette to evoke the whale's characteristic appearance, the company said.

Because The Wave sits directly on the coast, weather resistance and corrosion resistance in its exterior cladding are critical. KG Steel used X-TONE panels made from aluminum with a high-durability fluorine coating, chosen to withstand the high salinity and sea winds of the site.

The company said the no-wave emboss pattern reduces the "oil-canning" effect — a wave-like visual distortion that can appear on flat metal cladding surfaces — minimizing surface warping. The product also offers greater vertical strength than standard steel sheet of the same thickness, improving both structural stability and construction efficiency, it added.

The project marks a second collaboration between KG Steel and Kim Beom-gwan, a professor at the University of Ulsan, following last year's Ganjeolru visitor center at Ganjeolgot in Ulsan, which featured X-TONE panels in seven color combinations developed with the company's own technology. Ganjeolru has since won awards at both the 2025 International Design Awards and the 2026 Asia Design Prize.

KG Steel said it plans to expand its color steel solutions tailored to architects and customers and broaden the range of applications for X-TONE, leveraging its color and pattern development capabilities.

"The Wave is a case where the regional symbolism of Jangseongpo and the architect's design intent were realized through KG Steel's color steel technology and design capabilities," a company official said. "We will continue to raise the aesthetic quality of buildings and expand differentiated applications through customized color steel solutions that can meet the diverse design needs of our customers."

Meanwhile, KG Steel is accelerating the AI transformation of its manufacturing operations, working with Inha University's AI Innovation Graduate School to drive an AI transition at its Incheon factory.