Zaha Hadid Architects - Dongdaemun Design Park and Plaza Starts Construction

Friday, 22 May 2009 02:40

Construction begins on the Dongdaemun Design Park and Plaza, Seoul, Korea by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher joined the Mayor of Seoul, Sei-Hoon Oh, on 28 April for the groundbreaking ceremonies of the Dongdaemun Design Park and Plaza in the centre of Seoul, Korea.

Site Plan

The 85,000 square meter Dongdaemun Design Plaza will establish a learning resource for designers and members of the public with a design museum, library and educational facilities, whilst the 30,000 square meter Park will create a green oasis within the dense urban surroundings of Dongdaemun, Seoul.

“A fundamental aim of the scheme is to bring delight and inspiration to the people of Seoul by establishing a cultural hub in the centre of one of the busiest and most historic districts of the city” says Zaha Hadid. “The design has been governed by the belief that architecture must enable people to think beyond existing boundaries to reach innovative design solutions. This combined investment in education and research, together with the city’s public cultural programmes will inspire new generations of designers, helping to maintain Korean industry’s reputation as a leader in innovation.”

The form of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park revolves around the ancient city wall, which forms the central element of the composition, creating a continuous landscape that physically links the park and plaza together. The fluid language of the design, by inference and analogy, acts as a catalyst by promoting fluid thinking and interaction across all the design disciplines, whilst also encouraging the greatest degree of interaction between the activities of the Plaza and the public.

The new Dongdaemun Park creates a place for leisure, relaxation, and refuge. The design integrates the Park and Plaza seamlessly as one landscape element, blurring the boundary between architecture and nature. Informed by the Korean painting traditions depicting grand visions of the ever-changing aspects of nature, the Park reinterprets elements of traditional Korean garden design: reflecting pools, lotus ponds, pebble beds and bamboo groves, with no single feature dominating the perspective.

The external landscape of the Park transforms Seoul into a greener city by folding into the internal shopping/dining areas below. Numerous voids, undulations and depressions give park visitors glimpses into innovative world of design and allow Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park to be an important link between the city’s contemporary culture, historic artefacts and emerging nature.