Seoul is about to receive its very own elevated park created from an overpass originally built in 1970. In 2006, safety inspectors deemed the overpass to be unsafe and the city planned to demolish and rebuild it. But further consultation with the city’s residents led to the idea of transforming the overpass into a pedestrian walkway, and a design competition was launched in 2015. Netherlands-based MVRDV won the competition with its Seoul Skygarden design.
Park won-soon, Seoul’s Mayor, has described Seoul Skygarden, which will open in April, as a place where “nature and humans can live side by side,” according to qz.com.
And it seems as though there will be a heavy emphasis on the nature aspect of this nature/human interaction as the elevated park will feature 24,000 plants (including trees) labeled and organized in “neighborhoods” along the overpass in Korean alphabetical order. The plants will represent 254 species native to South Korea.
The park will provide aesthetic beauty and a nice strip of greenery through the city, but will have a practical function, as well. Seoul Skygarden will provide a shortcut through the city, turning a 25-minute walk around Seoul Station into a 10-minute stroll. Cafes, performance stages, street markets, and flower shops will be integrated among the thousands of plants.
As night falls, the park will transform with blue lighting from tree pots and lampposts bathing the path while the plants are lit up separately. As Winy Maas, Co-Founder or MVRDV says, rather poetically, on the firm’s website, the lighting will create an effect “as if you’re walking in a cosmos, and all the plants will be lit as if they are the stars, which, they are.”
The park will stretch for 938 meters and will allow for other green spaces to connect to it in the future. Eventually, MVRDV envisions the park becoming an urban nursery growing trees and plants for surrounding districts.
The project is expected to cost Seoul $33 million.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Related Stories
Green | Dec 11, 2023
U.S. has tools to meet commercial building sector decarbonization goals early
The U.S. has the tools to reduce commercial building-related emissions to reach target goals in 2029, earlier than what it committed to when it signed the Paris Agreement, according to a report by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Industry Research | Dec 9, 2023
Two new reports provide guidance for choosing healthier building products
The authors, Perkins&Will and the Healthy Building Network, home in on drywall, flooring, and insulation.The authors, Perkins&Will and the Healthy Building Network, home in on drywall, flooring, and insulation.
University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023
Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex
A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.
Industrial Facilities | Nov 14, 2023
Some AEC firms are plugging into EV charging market
Decentralized electrical distribution is broadening recharger installation to several building types.
Sustainability | Nov 1, 2023
Researchers create building air leakage detection system using a camera in real time
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a system that uses a camera to detect air leakage from buildings in real time.
Sustainability | Nov 1, 2023
Tool identifies financial incentives for decarbonizing heavy industry, transportation projects
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has released a tool to identify financial incentives to help developers, industrial companies, and investors find financial incentives for heavy industry and transport projects.
Codes and Standards | Oct 10, 2023
Green Seal will not certify any paints, coatings, floor care products containing PFAS
Green Seal will no longer certify any paints and coatings, floor care products, adhesives, and degreasers containing any per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly called “forever chemicals.”
Metals | Sep 11, 2023
Best practices guide for air leakage testing for metal building systems released
The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) released a new guidebook, Metal Building Systems - Best Practices to Comply with Whole-Building Air Leakage Testing Requirements.
Office Buildings | Aug 31, 2023
About 11% of U.S. office buildings could be suitable for green office-to-residential conversions
A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper from researchers at New York University and Columbia Business School indicates that about 11% of U.S. office buildings may be suitable for conversion to green multifamily properties.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 23, 2023
Constructing multifamily housing buildings to Passive House standards can be done at cost parity
All-electric multi-family Passive House projects can be built at the same cost or close to the same cost as conventionally designed buildings, according to a report by the Passive House Network. The report included a survey of 45 multi-family Passive House buildings in New York and Massachusetts in recent years.
