Han Riverside Skyline; Pragmatic Chaos or New Seoul-ness

The waterside skyline tends to be symbolized as a representative image of a city. The contrasting silhouette of a vertical city against a horizontal water surface will stand out more than others. Many cities of today are competitively erecting symbolic skyscrapers. Where and how tall should we build the super high-rise buildings? Can the competitiveness of urban high-rises enrich the lives of citizens?
Neighborhood Living Area Green Ring
Seoul, a city based on geomancy, is surrounded by two layers of mountains (4 inner mountains and 4 outer mountains). The inner layer is the historical center of the 4 Main Gates Area (1396), and the outer layer is the Green Belt (1977), which defines the boundary of Seoul. These topographical characteristics develop into a pedestrian-oriented Neighborhood Living Area (Small Living Area) Green Ring, and form a Green Network like capillaries, making it a walkable city where everyone can take rest in nature

Project 1. Recreating Yeouido as International Landmark
We propose to make Yeouido an international landmark along the Han River by making the most of its spatial potential and correcting its shortcomings. Its urban fabric should be reorganized suitable for the central business district (CBD) and disparate and unbalanced development should be compensated.
- Existing residential areas are reorganized into grids that focus on commercial functions rather than residential ones.
- The landscape of the National Assembly will be protected as a historical and cultural resource, not by height regulation for security reasons.
- The potential of the place will be maximized visually and spatially with new landmarks, new programs, and green networks.

Project 2. Recreating a New Banpo District Optimized for Nature
Most of the Han Riverside areas, where residential use accounts for more than 85%, began to be developed as large-scale apartment complexes in the 1970s and have already been redeveloped or are in the redevelopment stage. In particular, the Gangnam area, which is closer to flat land, has higher housing demand than the Gangbuk area, which is adjacent to the mountainous area. In the process of redevelopment, the initial plate type is transformed into a tower type and a complex type, and the height of buildings increases and the distance between buildings narrows, increasing the development density. Today, Han Riverside apartment complexes are improving, diversifying, and luxuriating in design, but are deteriorating in terms of sunlight and landscape. Let’s optimize the Gangnam Banpo district to the natural environment.
- Widen the space between buildings at the same development density.
- The lower part is transformed according to the urban fabric, while the upper part is adapted to the natural conditions.
- Various pedestrian-oriented green networks naturally connect living spaces and Han-river Park.