Dezeen reports that Dutch firm MVRDV has been selected to transform an unused elevated road in South Korea’s capital city into its own Hanging Gardens, similar to the High Line in New York and Chicago’s upcoming Bloomingdale Trail Park.
The overpass connected the western part of Seoul with Namdaemun from its completion in the 1970s up to 2009, when inspections found it to be no longer safe for heavier vehicles.
Instead of demolishing the overpass, city officials called on architects to transform the elevated road into a park, which follows Seoul mayor Oh Se-Hoon’s goal of transforming the city into one of the world’s most eco-friendly.
MVRDV’s winning design, dubbed the Seoul Skygarden, includes an arboretum where plants are organized according to the Korean alphabet, acting as a “library of plants,” which will make the park easier to navigate.
Staircases, elevators, and escalators are designed to be shiftable and flexible, as the designers wanted the park to easily change and grow in the future.
The firm will work alongside fellow Dutch firm Studio Makkink & Bey and landscape designer Ben Kuipers. According to Dezeen, the project is due for completion in 2017.
Related Stories
| Sep 22, 2010
Michael Van Valkenburg Assoc. wins St. Louis Gateway Arch design competition
Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh and a multidisciplinary team of experts in “urban renewal, preservation, commemoration, social connections and ecological restoration” have been picked for the planning phase of The City+The Arch+The River 2015 International Design Competition.
| Sep 13, 2010
Second Time Around
A Building Team preserves the historic facade of a Broadway theater en route to creating the first green playhouse on the Great White Way.
| Aug 11, 2010
CTBUH changes height criteria; Burj Dubai height increases, others decrease
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)—the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s Tallest Building”—has announced a change to its height criteria, as a reflection of recent developments with several super-tall buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Walter P Moore wins top award for Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
With structural engineering from Walter P Moore, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art has won the New Buildings Under $30 Million project category in the 2009 Structural Engineers Association of Kansas & Missouri (SEAKM) Awards Program.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment declined in 333 of 352 metro areas in June
Construction employment declined in all but 19 communities nationwide this June as compared to June-2008, according to a new analysis of metropolitan-area employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis shows that few places in America have been spared the widespread downturn in construction employment over the past year.