SEOUL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION:In 2005, the city of Seoul organized an international competition
for a new Performing Arts Center on an existing island in the Hang
River. The program for the new center consists of an opera house, a
concert hall, a music conservatory, museum, recording studios and other
support functions. The proposal calls for a complete remake of the
existing island. A series of 10 bands, each separated by water-gardens,
harmoniously divides the event occurring above and below. While the
program activities are generally located within the “bands”, the
complete exterior is shaped as an accessible roof-scape. Differences
between landscape and building are not apparent and the entire island
develops into a solid “rock-like” shape in the river. The stepping
edges of the new island provide equal shore conditions during the widely
fluctuating water levels of the river. A hydro-dynamic study was
conducted to ensure minimal impact of the new island on the existing
river shore.