What will envision Seoul of tommorrow? What will make you reflect over the ever-lasting flow of time? Wars, ideologies, inconceivable amount of information come and go through the Han River. All we know is that Flow will sculpt the vision. Our proposal for Yeoui-Naru Ferry terminal and the surrounding area will mix people, the city, the park and the river in interweaving flows, guiding them together to look into the future. Main goals of our design are; - Creating a cultural center spot by providing non-uniform, diverse space. - Triggering active transportation and tourism by closely connecting the city, the park and the river with continuous flows. - Providing a brand-new viewpoint to the Han River and the city, creating focus on the future. - Dynamically symbolizing the spirit of Seoul rising for the future, in harmony with the large-scale landscape. Design Description Instead of segmented floors, walls, roofs - we introduce Flows. Flows that attract people from the city, from the riverside park, from the ships, connecting them in continuous - flows. Flows overlap and inter-weave. They appear and disappear, sometimes you see different flows in layers, sometimes voids on them - lightwells. Ever-changing spaces take countless diverse shape and size. Flows Weave Spaces In our proposal, flows form everything - they become the floors, form slopes, stairs, divide areas, embrace us, lift us mid-air. There is no visible border between inside and outside. Spaces on each side of the flow, or between different flows take various shapes and size, according to the activity taking place there. Activities on different flows can be seen each other. Voids are placed where two flows merge, connecting different areas. These voids form lightwells where diverse people encounter and gather. The possibility of activities that will take place under / inside / around these spaces - infinite. You can enjoy picnic, run your dog, fly a kite, play open-air sports, speak, sing, dance, paint, sculpt, sell things, show your products, maybe a K-POP festival or a fashion show? Here, from non-uniformity and diversity, new culture will take its first step. Programme and Circulation - River as Open Space The town, the park and the Han river has been separated with straight distinctive lines - until now. We propose to connect these three elements with continuous flows. This will enable easier access to the water surface, making it an integrated part of the city's open space. Flows are smooth, without any obstacles, open for every pedestrian, including the elderly and the disabled. Welcoming Everyone, Mixing People The starting point of the bridge provides an ideal gathering area: the midpoint between the subway exit, the bus stop and the public parking lot. To avoid dividing the street and the park, access to the bridge is arranged to mix people from the both.Every path follows a continuous flow towards the river, mixing with each other and separating times and times again.One can find countless possible ways to go, to discover different views and activities. One Big Space The flows also define borders between the public, ticket and restricted areas. Individual rooms are only loosely defined by the density of pillars. Overall space remains united, embracing everyone making different activities. Enhancing the Park The flow carefully preserves the existing promenades and also enhances park's central plaza by seamlessly connecting the event space under the largest arch. For safety and fail-safe reasons, circulation for the emergrency traffic is prepared separately from the main facility. Vehicles can directly cross from the bank to the pier deck using a simple folding bridge right next to the facility. Direct access to the entrance hall is wide open to the park, also allowing future transfer circulation for amphibious buses. Inventing Views We targeted the main focuses of the view on where the river comes from, Namsan on the far bank and where the river is flowing - Seoul's past, present and future. The facility also provides plenty of unique views by undulating the height and directing the flow towards various angles. Going up and down on the bridge and reaching the climax, one can enjoy a successive experience of ever-changing unique views over this energetic city. We also preserved the current breathtaking panoramic view from the street through the River by placing the main facility slightly off the existing park axis.
Principal of Architect: Ryuichi Sasaki Architecture team: Ryuichi Sasaki, Gen Sakaguchi, Anna Kwapien
