SINNAE
TAKE THE GREEN LINE
At the edge of Seoul, the Sinnae district is one bound by a variety of transportation mega-structures A highway, a bus depot, and a metro train depot border the site, and this proposal seeks to establish a new residential typology which responds to and integrates these urban infrastructures. The existing residential zone in Sinnae is mono-programmatic, serving primarily as a commuter town. While the plan to cap the highway would reduce noise and pollution, it could potentially create an even more serious barrier, further segregating the residential area from the rest of the context. We don’t think a new cap over the highway should act like a wall, making the problem worse. A new type of development has the potential to become a social connector, with an urban plateau on top of the highway and smooth, green transitions that help link the neighborhoods together. We introduce a new green path, called the Green Line, which flows across the entire development site. The Green-Line consists of lush landscape, meandering pedestrian paths, bicycle lanes, and a series of community facilities. It is a space that favors and ensures social relations and a place to strengthen ties with neighbors and with the city. The new building geometries are optimized to maintain good views for the existing residents, while ensuring that all the new structures provide adequate access to the lush Green Line. The project merges residential functions (1.000 houses for students, professionals, and newly married couples) with public functions (11.500 m2 of commercial and community facilities), and flexible land for the next stages of private development. The public functions placed at the two edges of the plateau will work as barriers against noise and dust from the cars on the highway. The project aims to restructure the area both formally and sociologically to accommodate a vibrant urban neighborhood, and we believe the Sinnae project could be a stepping stone towards transforming the urban morphology of Seoul.
Size: 71.000 sqm
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Client: Seoul Metropolitan Government
Collaborators: Urban Agency, Siaplan, Ramboll
Type: Open Competition
Status: 2nd Phase, Settled
Team: Heechan Park, Kostas Poulopoulos, Henning Stüben, Gaspar Cánepa, Minjae Kwon, Narcisa Ionita, Doohyeong Lee, Borja Santurino
