Location: Seoul, Korea
Problem: During Seoul’s economic boom in the 1960s, the CheongGyeCheon stream, a major waterway running through the city center, was covered in concrete and replaced with a four-lane highway, to make way for massive building expansion projects. But with the highway came environmental consequences: a rise in air pollution and deteriorating health conditions of its citizens.
Client: Seoul Development Institute with the Seoul Metropolitan Government
Designers: Seoul Development Institute with the Seoul Metropolitan Government
Solution: The city government, in an effort to create green space, decrease health risks and help stimulate the economy in the area, dismantled the highway and redirected the underground waterways to a newly created streambed. Landscaped shorelines, an elaborate bridge network for pedestrian traffic, and funding for local merchants all helped reinvigorate a run-down section of the city and created a public works project that drew international acclaim.
Completion: September, 2005
For more info: Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project
Posted May 10, 2007
