Productive Han-Ga-Ram: Han River as Madang of Culture and Ecology

Productive Han-Ga-Ram reimagines the Han River as Seoul’s central public space by transforming its thirty bridges and riverfronts into a collective green network. The existing bridges and the waterfronts will be gradually transformed into a productive and performative public infrastructure. This phased process will create a series of pedestrian-oriented platforms and spaces where energy is produced, air and water are filtered. In addition to the continuous trails for walking, running, and biking, these bridges will become multi-functional ‘madang’ spaces integrated into rivers’ new soft edges that mitigate the effects of increasing floods. At the human scale, playgrounds, picnic areas, pools, trails, learning centers, restaurants, and cafes, provide opportunities for young and seniors to mingle and share the river’s new spaces. Further, bridges and riverfronts will be retrofitted into infrastructure that proactively mitigates the increasing impacts of the changing climate and water crisis. Productive Han-Ga-Ram generates a new collective identity for Seoul proactively by connecting the people of Seoul to its immediate waters and mountains and to the water bodies that connect to the Taebaek Mountains and the Yellow River and amplify Han River’s ecological potential to trigger a series of sociopolitical transformations for Seoul’s next 100 years.