The final crit in Seoul: The Gift

Critics: Peter Ferretto, Robert Mull, Stef Rhodes, Haewon Shin, Ryul Song

Overview of comments to consider before January's crit in London:

- Fascinating topic – the walls are visible to us and you make them visible. But what do you think they are?
- Drawings similar to Appia's – stage set designer
- Consider accidental qualities of walls – drainage, flower pots
- Ideas interesting but Gift proposal is a bit simplistic. Revisit some of the ideas that have been explored in Seoul
- Models are missing!
- The way of representing ideas is rich. Walls are a colliding and layering of space
- Think about meaning of drawings (things you may not be aware of yet)
- Topography – when you look at retaining walls, you are participating in a larger scale site
- Consider continuous element of the walls. The enjoyable element is that you walk along them
- Linearity of Victorian railway tracks – an English comparison. Could final site be in England?
- Traditional, practical, poetic aspects of walls

Reflection of crit and time in Korea
- After ‘intervening’ physically in a long retaining wall, it is important also to reflect more on the wall itself, rather than simply cutting through it. Rather than think about the object, think about the theme
- Close analysis of this part of Seoul has been useful in order to engage with a specific site. However, there is also the subject of the wider scale – how retaining walls offer a re-reading of Seoul’s landscape
- A reference brought up in the crit was Victorian railways in London and how these shape the city, with similarities to retaining walls in Seoul. The walls navigate, guide, divide, and link spaces in the city. Equally, so do London’s railway routes.
- Although perhaps not the most obvious step, this seems particularly relevant to the project because of the connection I have between retaining walls and transport i.e. before Seoul, my view of retaining walls was always associated with transport systems as they are often found next to motorways, rivers and so on.

Sketch model: peeling back the contours revealing a lost landscript

Quick sketch models begin to suggest how revealing the natural contours can begin to shape the paths across the wall. The front of the site (mid-rise residential) whereas the back is rationalised and planned (apatu complex). The retaining wall is the meeting of these two patterns.

Plan diagrams: steps

A landscape strata for Hongjie

Like Paju Book City, the landscape strata begin to influence the levels of the spaces for the journey traversing the wall. This sets out a set of constraints on the vertical plane.

Plan diagrams: steps

Plan diagrams (bottom to top): street, half landing, courtyard

Spaces dictate location of steps

Defining spaces begin to dictate layout of steps and routes through wall. Consideration of different paces: direct routes, ramped access, slow staircase

A dialogue: View from existing 'half-landing' to under-used public space on opposite side of the road

View from top is marred by 1400 mm high balustrade in front of car park

Thinking about adjacent spaces

Notes:
- Conversation / dialogue across street
- Set back entrance
- From top, a view
- Pedestrian connection from playground, pedestrian right of way over vehicles

Section across street

Elevation looking from street

Retaining wall elevation (existing)

Elevation: retaining wall

Elevation close-up: site existing

Rather than a series of interventions along the wall, I have decided to use this location as a test bed which will act as a catalyst for activity along the rest of the wall. Perhaps surprisingly, I have decided to use a part of the wall which already has a pedestrian route through. The reasons for this are as follows:

- working with existing ideas of ways to traverse the wall. What works, what doesn't?

- developers have attempted to introduce a pedestrian route through but it is hardly used and priority remains on vehicular circulation

- this is a key point near two main routes up to the mountain - hierarchy of routes (referencing village on Inwangsan)

Site plan

Steps: perspectives

Starting with the steps was the wrong way round!

Sketching..

Above top: Existing
Above below: ideas.. steps parallel to street, exaggerated in scale like retaining wall and Apatu?

Welcomm City comparison: street, half-landing, courtyard?

L-r: Hongjie pedestrian access, Welcomm City

Two points of focus

Two key openings in the retaining wall: pedestrian and vehicular

Sketch elevations of routes leading retaining wall

Elevations from street (l) to retaining wall (r)

The two main roads up from the main main road. I had previously thought there were no access points through the retaining wall at the end of the street. However, during my third visit, I noticed a small pedestrian route up to Apatu and mountain beyond.

Access

Moving through the landscape

Since becoming engaged with the way landscape is dealt with in Seoul, retaining walls have remained an elemental idea of this project. What goes hand-in-hand with these walls is movement across them. The gift project has therefore begun to consider ways of traversing the walls as a way of bringing two fractured pieces of land together.

Moments of the staircase, looking towards the small bookhall through the staircase

I was particularly taken by the way the architecture leads visitors around the YoulHwaDang buildings. The staircase which links the two rooms of the bookhall and leads up to the mezzanine level, is incredibly refined and simple, yet seems to add so much to the space. When I first visited, it felt like a religious space, yet also domestic. It’s very homely, but special, it offers a little something extra than other comparable spaces. Also notable is that the vertical levels of each space are higher or lower depending on the importance of the space. This results in a shifting of vertical floor heights across each storey, and several sequences of steps. It makes the building feel bigger and more experiential.

Level changes with stepping retaining walls and steps

Paju Book City – with Florian Beigel and Philip Christou

It was such an experience revisiting a place with architects who have been involved with the aspirations of Paju Book City for so long. Hearing such informed opinions of the whole project, allowed me to fully appreciate the influence of the landscape on the new city. We concentrated on the three buildings that Beigel and Christou designed; Phase 1 and 2 of YoulHwadang, and Positive Thinking.

We were asked to study the buildings concentrating on three scales: landscape infrastructure, envelope and detail which presented two days later. I looked with a critical eye, thinking especially about how the buildings are relevant for my project in Seoul. Firstly though, it is important to put the idea of Paju Book City in context. It is called a ‘city’ but zoning policies in Korea are different to the UK. Housing and industrial areas are generally separated, due mainly to land values. Paju was originally only allowed to include industrial buildings (for publishing). However, the government later agreed to allow apartments on the two upper levels of buildings, a small but useful concession meaning more integration of workplace and living was made possible.

1 Landscape infrastructure

Socio-political context: publishers who came immediately after military rule brought with them a purposeful move away from the prior regime. Some of them had previously published books or magazines that were banned during the military rule, and some we imprisoned for it. The whole philosophy of Paju looked forward in a new way.

Site section East-West: landscape informs city strata

Geographical context: the land was originally a flood plain but a motorway was built along the wetland in the 1980s, now the main road which leads north towards the South-North Korean border. The motorway is on a raised embankment, eight metres above the river level protecting land to the east from flooding. Next to the motoway is Paju Book City. Due to Paju’s close proximity to the border, military observation of the River Han (which runs through both countries) from Simhak mountain (on the opposite side of Paju) is crucial. The landscape influences the form of buildings creating a maximum height (14m) to allow a view of the river from Simhaksan. There is a second strata which is the same level of the motorway thus allowing a view of the river to the east from second storey roof terraces. Paju is divided into the following strata: below embankment, embankment (and fill/ground) level, above embankment. Roads patterns also follow the contours of Simhak mountain. Roads take up 20% of the overall scheme, arguably too much resulting in a lack of pedestrian spaces.

Street view: a lack of pedestrians, a similar comparison to my site where there is little human activity, with parking taking up most of the street

2 Envelope (structure)

Youlhwadang phase 1 – 2003
- The form of the building began as cube which then had chunks cut out of it. The cut outs are clad in glass, and the rest in black timber. This reminds me of excavating the earth to create a new landscape via retaining walls.
- Construction: concrete frame with timber rainscreen cladding and translucent glass facades (multi-layered polycarbonate provide transparent insulation). Concrete block infill and steel lightweight studwork, waterproof membrane on external wall behind cladding.

Concept diagram, detail showing transparent and opaque facades

Positive Thinking – 2007
- Construction: Originally a solid brick wall but this changed due to new Korean regulations which follow Japanese earthquake construction. This states that buildings over two storeys cannot be built with load-bearing brick construction. Therefore, there are concrete walls with external brick cladding. ARU wanted to ensure tectonic clarity, that the building was read as cladding, and not pretend to be load bearing. Steel rail bolted to concrete wall in grid, and bricks are laid into grid.
- Windows all stand on the floor, like French doors – figurative. Internal balustrades become like balconies when doors open. Similar ideas to Youl Hwa Dang phase 2.

YoulHwaDang phase 2 2009

'Miracle at San Lio' by Mansueti (1494) compared to the blackness of a retaining wall

- Façade: this was approached very much as a city building, quite different from phase 1. Therefore the building tries to have a relationship with the city. It offers ‘gift to the city’ with the public space. ‘Miracle at San’ Lio (1494) by Mansueti shows people in almost every window looking out to religious ceremony taking place in the square. All windows in phase 3 come to the floor, with French doors and balustrades allowing the room extend into the city. Street-like lighting and the ‘elephant’ teahouse, autonomous from the main building create a city scenario. It is interesting to compare the ‘blankness’ of a retaining wall to both phase 1 and 2 of YoulHwaDang – could there be a similar approach in order to improve the  adjacent ground conditions which is often public space?

Section, YouHwaDang 2: interior to public space, a gift to the city. What can my site offer to the city?

- Construction: In-situ concrete walls. “Phenolic’ (plastic) layer on plywood formwork enables a smooth concrete finish. External stain on concrete exterior is insulating. It is sprayed on and penetrates the façade. Slabs need additional waterproofing in this scenario but it is adequate for walls as they are vertical. In principle, it is best to have insulation on the outside because it keeps the building warm and the structure doesn’t alter or contract with temperature changes.

3 Detail

YoulHwaDang phase 3
- Facades the overall façade is broken down into four smaller facades, giving the impression of a series of small houses. This is similar to Summerson’s concept of aedicules being stacked up to form a city. The façade is broken up by a series of reliefs which divide up the façade according to importance of the interior spaces

I will continue to study and explore certain aspects as my project continues..