Seoul Formless_2.1

With each step we experience the rise and fall of Seoul's urban topography. The city is shaped by contours, viewed  through pedestrian spaces of yesterday and today. Links between here and there are captured in laborious step and breath. With few exceptions the architecture and buildings that dress these slopes do so in clustered masses of indeterminate form; hillsides are blanketed with irregularity and density.

The city is experienced in actions. Carefully aware of the irregular rise from step to step, one is reminded of natures imperfections and the city as a place of formless possibility to mirror that of nature. 

Seoul Formless_2

Image reference SDI, 1961

Topography is at the heart of Korean consciousness and life. In a country more than 70% mountainous it is the lay of land that is a constant force against building, dwelling and urban form. In the recent past as seen in the image above from 1961, illegal villages and districts of Seoul were constructed in less than desirable locations, often to avoid inspection and notice from city officials. The results of which were meandering clusters on steep terrain, isolated and removed from the cities center.

Many such places have long disappeared but remain as documented reminders of how city and land form combine. Improvisation and necessity intertwined, rendering the city formless.

Seoul Formless

Old and new collide in Seoul's layered core. Service industry and corporate interests shape the cities inner block structure where makeshift buildings and office towers stand side by side in contrasting function. The result is formless whereby urban organization dissolves in fragments. Order and structure give way to dissorder and a patchwork of  yesterday and today.

The cities evolution couldn't be more clear in intersections such as these. At once time appears frozen in reflections of foundational industry and how these places established Seoul as a major urban center. The city around such places continues to evolve quickly in speculative transformations. The combination of these two conditions creates a complex and formless identity.

Condencity_38 urban rebirth

Rebirth is metaphor for many things in life. The city of Seoul is itself being constantly reborn as old now becomes available and accessible. KIMUSA, today dressed in pink, is undergoing a radical shift, from secret military defense post to the future home of Seoul's new museum of contemporary art. This transformative rebirth began a couple of months back as temporary installations began to initiate the urban site as public and cultural ground. Secrets rarely last forever and KIMUSA is an urban testament to that.

The redevelopment and gathering of ideas for the site began in November with the start of an international design ideas competition for the new museum. Perhaps there is no more significant a place in Seoul as this site situated between the two main historic palaces and one of the last remaining historic residential quarters in the city. It is positioned at a crossroads of progressive culture and deeply rooted history.

City and life moving forward.

berkeley_99

remember
berkeley after dark 
paths cross
east to west
night cool under eucalyptus
walking, pausing


and at that moment i knew
i loved you


remember?

Formless city_ formless seoul

Yesterday I gave a talk at KAADF here in Seoul. It is an organization which meets regularly to discuss the architectural design academic 'climate' here in Seoul and around Korea. I spoke on my past experiences as a student and professional. What I failed to discuss in my very brief introduction has been at the forefront of my mind  these days, particularly with Seoul as backdrop for life. Its latent ideas were part of my talk yesterday, however never surfaced in my words with clarity.  

To quote Italian urban theorist Tafuri.. in the city "it is the struggle for organization against the will of formlessness".. perhaps this can be no more evident than in a city such as Seoul.  I can't help but think here that the future of modernism lies more in our ability to synthesize mass amounts of history and information; repositioning what are arguably environmental 'fragments' in less form dependant ways. We should be critically considering an 'invisible architecture', one that is absorbed by function and processess of the city at large.

Condencity_37 city revealed

More than 2 million trips are made daily on the Seoul Metro. The Metro system is comprised of 9 main lines that reach the farthest corners of the Seoul Metroplitan area. It is one of the most efficient and extensive subway systems in the world. Over 70% of the subway lies underground and only moments of above ground visibility bear rider witness to the cityscape.

I spend my Tuesday's circling Seoul on the 'inner-cirle line'. Stretching for more than 60kms this trip in three segments takes nearly 2 hours. Raised track platforms reveal the city in small fragments. The visibility is but momentary as trains dive quick to metric depths below ground. I view the city in small glimpses and when submerged imagine the city above; keeping time with the speed of train below. 

  

Seoul Today: momentarily

My obsession is the city
absorbed by its folds and corners
hidden
Momentarily you are there
time may erase
but your image
is forever
on my mind

Condencity_34 reclaimed city

For much of the past century there are historically significant locations in Seoul that have remained in isolation from Seoul residents. A number of these places have been associated with political and military activity of foreign occupation and interest. Over the past five years significant political shifts, and some such urban sites, as this one in Samchungdong shown from above, (previously occupied by Japanese and US governments) have once again been returned to the city (at least in theory). While this location in particular remains concealed and impenetrable by a 3 meter perimeter stone wall, its redevelopment will soon introduce this 3.5 hectare area back into the complex fabric of Seoul after decades of isolation.

Condencity_33 dwelling

I am currently buried in housing as project typology both academically and professionally. It is a topic pressing on many levels here in South Korea given physical conditions and ongoing debate. The cityscape in Seoul has been transformed by housing over the last 40 years. Dominant apartment blocks and developments stand uncontested. Comparable to the sprawling American suburb (the Korean apartment development is arguably a vertical 'suburb').

Today, strict laws and codes govern such developments in a manner that leaves little room for deviation. What results are homogeneous tower clusters primarily driven by economic speculation. Regulations are currently being challenged and the continued evolution of dwelling in Korea will certainly bring about another shift in residential life here.