Yongsan Gateway
Location // Seoul, Korea • Program // Mixed-Use • Status // Proposal / 2012 • Area // 30,000m2 • Team // Clayton Strange
Yongsan Gateway reinvents a series of existing structures on the site of the Yongsan Military Base as part of its proposed conversion into a large urban park. As part of this proposal, hundreds of existing buildings would be repurposed for recreational use.
This proposal examines the potential of an existing set of barracks which can be seen as a microcosm of the park: a typical suburban cluster arrangement with a poorly defined center dedicated to parking. The buildings are strategic in that they occupy an important site of entry for the park.
By reimagining the buildings as a gateway, a new, mixed use development can emerge. Community programs and amenities are introduced to the center, breaking up the space into a series of courtyards for social and cultural functions. At the same time, the landscape is cut and extended through the project as a series of strips providing pedestrian infrastructure into the park beyond.
