MVRDV has transformed one of Seoul’s underutilized highways into a green walkway for the city — a feat many municipalities are attempting these days but which only a few have been successful at so far. Like New York’s High Line, the Seoullo 7017 Skygarden is a repurposed piece of infrastructure that cuts through the inner city, serving as a catalyst for a greener and more walkable quarter of the South Korean capital.
The project was pieced together on top of an abandoned 16-meter-high [52 feet] steel and concrete overpass built in 1970. MVRDV won a competition back in 2015 to bring its creation to life: a design featuring an elaborate “plant village” that would become an “urban nursery” and grow new trees for the surrounding central station district.
The project’s apt name, “Seoullo,” is the Korean word for “toward Seoul” or “Seoul Street,” while 7017 refers to the year in which the highway was built and subsequently reimagined as an urban greenway. The Dutch studio, known for its playful master plans and uniquely shaped architecture, took on a massive renovation project and took just two years to create what will likely be a global tourist attraction — significantly faster than the High Line or the recently dumped Garden Bridge in London.
Nine hundred and eighty-three meters long [3,200 feet], the linear Skygarden splits into multiple branches, creating a matrix of open walkways for the garden to grow. It cuts and curves underneath drivable roadways and in between buildings, dissecting the streetscape and giving pedestrians and commuters an alternative route through the city. The park boasts 24,000 newly planted trees, shrubs and flowers — the largest variety of Korean plant species set in one place.
“Skygarden offers a living dictionary of plants, which are part of the natural heritage of South Korea,” said MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas at the park’s ceremonial opening earlier this month. “The idea here is to connect city dwellers with nature while at the same time also offering the opportunity of experiencing these amazing views to the Historical Seoul Station and Namdaemun Gate.
“Skygarden is an educational arboretum, a nursery for future species and one that in the future will act as a garden, which can extend to other parts of Seoul as the plants grow and are transferred to new homes.”
The plantings are arranged according to the Korean alphabet and designed in a collection of small gardens, each featuring its own compositions, perfume, color and identity. The landscape is slated to also change with the seasons. And in true MVRDV fashion, the site — though it includes living plants — will have an artificial aura, as well.
As shown in the renderings, the firm has incorporated a “science-fictional element” to the park. The intense color contrasts between the various plant species and the artificial blue color that will light up the park at night both contribute to the Skygarden’s otherworldly feel. As the plants mature, reality should begin to look more akin to the vibrant landscape visible in MVRDV’s competition-winning visualizations.
A network of stairs, lifts and escalators and little satellite gardens connect to the elevated parkway, “sprouting like branches from the existing structural piers,” according to the architects. The viaduct also connects with hotels, shops, galleries, a theater and restaurants, aiming to act as a booster to the local economy and generating a more active atmosphere in the heart of the city.
“These extensions can inspire further additions to the area’s greenery and public spaces,” said MVRDV on its website, “and will connect the Skygarden to its surroundings both physically and visually through plant species related to each of the neighborhoods.”
Images via MVRDV
