Vertical Cities Asia - Seoul - Everything Ages

Lifetime City

Vertical Cities Asia ‘Everything Ages’

TU Delft

Lifetime City

Designing for Yongsan, Seoul Walking throug h the city of Seoul you see all the people around you. They eat,drink,laug h. They walk into shops or sit on a bench in a park. They live and they grow old in a city that lives and grows. Not just everyone ages,but everything ages. Our design will make sure that this is still possible in the future. When even more people live in the city and grow old. The neig hbourhoods are supporting daily live and are the basis for our proposal. People will be able to live in Yongsan during their whole lifetime. It becomes a Lifetime City.

TU Delft . Faculty of Architecture . 2012

Laura Dinkla . ldinkla@gmail.com . +31 (0) 6 81418191 Katerina Salonikidi . ksalonikidi@hotmail.com . +31 (0) 6 19272123 Maria Stamati . mstam_wa@hotmail.com . +31 (0) 6 19274347 Johnny Tascon . johnnytascon@gmail.com . +31 (0) 6 47602724 Qiu Ye . archiqiu@gmail.com . +31 (0) 6 43160331 Thanks to: Stef Bogaerds,Aleksandrs Feltins,Juyoung Jung Jung,Karel van der Kaaij,Gijs Limper,Jan-Maarten Mulder,Erjen Prins,Francesca Rizetto, Claudio Saccucci,Emelien Schut,Samuel Liew Jing Xian,Rui Xuan,Frank Zijlstra,Evgenia Zioga Mitesh Dixit . mitesh.dixit@gmail.com . +31 (0) 6 34132084 Henco Bekkering . h.c.bekkering@tudelft.nl. +31(0) 6 81478897

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Content Proposal

Yongsan,Seoul The City Ages Everyone Ages Masterplan Existing & Functions Characteristics Strategy People & neig hbourhoods Typology research Atmosphere

1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 13

Appendix

Theoretical background Phasing Water Green structure Energy Sections

Lifetime City

I III V VII VIII IX

1

Art gallery

Corner shop

Typical street

Electronic market

I’Park Mall

Korean advertisement

Gate 19 US Army/Yongsan National Park

Main street

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Yongsan, Seoul

Lifetime City

2

The City Ages

1996. Traditional neighbourhood structure

2012. Gated communities and high rise appartments

1996. Neighbourhood functions are everywhere

2012. Seoul as a housing factory

In the last decades in Seoul, as well as many other Asian cities, the increasing urban density has meant the removal of hundreds of traditional neig hbourhoods. They have to make space for modern, luxury apartment complexes. These complexes are often serialized hig hrise apartments that do not represent the identity of the city. These complexes are located across the city, generating hig h-density areas towards the borders, causing increased need for automobiles as well as hig h commuting times.

By densifying this area, which is the geographical centre of Seoul, the functional centre of the city will move from the historical city centre down towards Yongsan. Densification can be a process in neig hbourhoods where urban life evolves over years. By using densification instead of replacement, the urban life in neig hbourhoods can be protected and enhanced. In order to face the social challenges of ageing in Seoul, our proposal is a city where traditional neig hbourhoods are the roots for new hig h dense neig hbourhoods.

3

Seoul M. Government, Seoul Statistical Yearbook 1981,2001,2006

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Everyone Ages Korea has flourished in the 20th century. Economy grew and so did the population. In Seoul the number of inhabitants has risen over 10 million. During the growth, the city borders didn’t expand. The city densified within its borders. At the same time the elderly population has grown. The effect is enormous; estimations say that in 2050 more than 50% will be 55 years or older.

How should the city be designed in this ageing context? The answer was already in the traditional neig hbourhoods. In these places the people and the city have evolved together. As a result of this the urban shape, its vitality and its atmosphere spontaneously reflect people’s needs. This fact can be perceived in the accessibility to basic urban services. From the analysis of successful residential neig hbourhoods (page 8 of this document), it is clear that people can reach within walking distances basic destinations such as the grocery shop, the hair salon, the church, the community centre, the station for public transportation, the park,a friend’s home and so on.

According to the International Longevity Centre this condition is one central characteristic of what they call Lifetime Neig hbourhoods: Lifetime neig hbourhoods are those which arrange their services, built environment and public spaces in such a way so as to facilitate access by those with reduced physical abilities” (ILC, 2007). One basic design premise for the present work is that if the city works for an elderly person,it works for everyone.

Timeline population and border expansion. Dataset from: Statistics Korea (www.kostat.go.kr)

100% 95%

11,30%

90% 85%

10,78%

24,28% 38,15%

80% 75% 70%

More then 50% is over 55 years old in 2050!

16,47%

65% 60% 55% 50%

14,54% 62,31%

45% 40%

47,88%

35% 30%

38,42%

25% 20%

over 65

15%

55-64

10% 5%

15,60%

15-54

11,36%

8,89%

0-14

0% 2011

2030

2050

Setting the distances for a life time neighbourhood. Dataset from: DANS (www.dans.knaw.nl)

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4

Masterplan

5

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Masterplan

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6

Existing & functions

Existing green structure

Existing roads structure

Existing education facilities and radius

Existing healthcare facilities and radius

The given site in Yongsan is a strategic point of the city. It became the geographical centre of Seoul after the expansion to the south of the Han river. It is surrounded by residential neig hbourhoods and by the three CBD areas in the city.

There is a connection to the inner land and to the world throug h Yongsan Station, reaching all the large cities and airports of South Korea. Different sorts of traffic between strategic points of the city pass throug h Yongsan. That is one reason why commercial functions such as the electronic market or the recently built I`Park shopping mall in Yongsan Station are located here. The proximity of the US Army Yongsan Garrison base is another characteristic of the area surrounding our site. These facts have had consequences in the structure of the neig hbourhoods.

Neig hbourhoods to the west of the site have turned into commercial dependencies of the electronic market since it arrived here in the 90`s; neig hbourhoods to the east spontaneously mix local people with immigrants related with the military base. After research on these and other functions, we based the new program bars of the different districts on a mix of existing and proposed functions. In this way each district can have its own character.

Proposed program bar

7

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Characteristics The main characteristics we found in the site can be summarized in 4 layers: traditional neig hbourhoods found before 1946, new hig h rise apartment areas, commercial areas, and void areas that used to be occupied by KORAIL for activities related with the Korean train system. These characteristics are evident when walking throug h the site: residential areas are pleasant to walk throug h and to meet residents,while hig h rise areas are empty and lack urban activity.

Hig h commercial areas represent the vitality of Seoul society while the rail yards are evident voids in the middle of a vibrant city. We improve and enhance the character of each district. By connecting the districts they compliment each other.

Existing main characteristics in the site

Proposed main characteristics in the site

Main characteristics are connected

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8

Stretagy

Existing green structure

Existing public transport

Proposed green structure

Proposed public transport

Existing land use map

9

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Strategy

Existing neighborhood structure

Existing functions

Proposed neighborhood structure

Proposed functions

Proposed land use map

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10

People & Neighbourhoods

Use during the week

Use during the weekend

Existing neighbourhood functions

Addition of new functions

Neighbourhood structure research

At this moment the site is very fragmentised, for example the railway divides the site in an east and west part. We propose better accessibility of the different parts of the site by placing platforms and connections where needed. This makes sure that in the future people will make use of the whole site and people and functions will be spread out throug h the neig hbourhoods.

Commercial and office areas will be frequently used during the week, while in the weekend there will be a shift of use towards the park and the public space. Especially elderly will make more use of green and quiet public spaces.

11

The roots of our proposal lay in the existing neig hbourhood structures.

We found ideal examples not only in Seoul,but also around our homes in Rotterdam and in other Asian cities. All of the examples are characterized by a neig hbourhood backbone that consists out of all kinds of local functions such as a grocery,a bakery,a hairdresser and so on. Some secondary streets provide functions at a larger scale, while primary roads connect the neig hbourhood to the city. Other streets have a more residential character and are more quiet. There children are playing on the street and elderly can have a little talk with their neig hbour.

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Typology research

Typology research for high-rise/low density

Typology research for high-rise/high density

Typology research for low-rise/low density

Typology research for low-rise/high density

Blocks map according to type of street

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12

Atmosphere

Along with the growth of digital technology in time, Seoul`s electronic market has grown and has moved from one location within Seoul to another during the recent decades.

For the coming time we placed it next to the park, where visitors can experience the mix of shopping with cultural activities.

Uk Ch’on waterstream

13

Electronic market Park

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Atmosphere

Local functions and green connection

After the electronic market is moved to its new location, the revealing of the Uk ch`on water stream can take place. This stream was covered several decades ago by a new road. The introduction of water brings a new character to this area and brings back the residential atmosphere, which had disappeared.

Existing electronic market

Lifetime City

Electronic market Park

14

Atmosphere

Our master plan is proposed as part of the evolution process of the structures and communities that we found there. As an example, the street leading to the recently designed Yongsan Park (formerly gate 19 of the US army Yongsan Garrison base) houses points of interest that have been part of this community more than 30 years.

Places like the Yongsan Post Office (brown tall building in the background), the Fashion Gallery (white building in the foreground to the rig ht) or the public playground `One child heart` (few steps behind this point of view) are common meeting points that have witnessed the ongoing mix of Seoulites and immigrants in this area.

By introducing the green corridor that passes by this street, a symbiotic effect begins in which the green improves the atmosphere around these functions and the existing vitality of these places add life to the new connection. In this flourishing environment, new densities can be introduced by keeping the same functions in the ground floor and increasing the vitality of the area not only for visitors but also for people that live there.

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Lifetime City

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Appendix

Lifetime City

Theoretical background WHO: Age Friendly City

ILC: Life Time Neighborhoods

VCA: Life Time Neighborhoods

Outdoor space and buildings Transportation Housing

Built environment Housing

Safe streetscape and urban environment Acces to public space as engine for social cohesion Residential typologies for everyone

Respect and social inclusion Social particpation Civic participation Communication and information Community support and health services

Study on psychogeographic map of Seoul.

Illustration by: Jeolmyohan, Open Book & Electric Poster, 2008

Social inclusion Social cohesion and sense of place Services and amenities Innovation and cross-sectoral planning

Strong community functions at city scale Local functions at the neighborhood scale that generate social participation Strategy and phasing

Study on psychogeographic map of Seoul on top of geographic map of Seoul

Study of the psycho-geographic maps has been done for the city of Seoul. These maps by Jeolmyohan, Open Book & Electric Poster, 2008, show how feelings like passion, warmth,dizziness and sadness have a strong correlation with the spatial qualities of Seoul. According to this analysis of the central area of Seoul, including Yongsan, the general feeling is sadness and dizziness.

From this point we started to understand the city from the existing and found potential relations between feelings and experiences of inhabitants in the neig hborhood scale,rather than a civic work of art to be designed in a large scale.

A map of Paris,chopped up into an archi pelago of neig hbourhoods. G.Debord, Naked City, 1957

I

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Theoretical background The street is the main component of the public space in Asian cities. Our neig hbourhood approach is based on the street level structure we found there,enhancing the character of local streets as meeting points, market places,and places for cultural expression. In the larger scale, we connect residential areas with the Yongsan Park (former US Military base) by introducing parkways and ecological corridors as part of the neig hbourhoods.

comfort in scale (cities)

Comfort in scale (philosophy)

comfort in scale (cities) NEW YORK

comfort in scale (philoshophy) SEOUL

6-8 x

12-16 x

3-4 x

6-8 x

comfortable scale for neighboorhood: 10-15 N.Y blocks

AGORA

Aristotle in “Politcs�

Plato

comfortable scale for neighboorhood: 20-30 Seol blocks

distance over which a shout could be heard

walking time (average speed : 4km/h) 1

Lifetime City

POLIS

5

10

20

min.

unit of democratic citizenship at 500 citizens

What is the rig ht size of a neig hbourhood? We analyze many approaches, from ancient Greece theories about the size of the poly and its components, to interviewing Seoulites to find out how they interact with their neig hbourhoods. As a general conclusion, the more activities you can reach in walking distance, the better not only for elderly but for everyone.

II

Phasing

The building process starts in the void areas of the site. The empty land can easily be developed without disturbance of the existing.

The road structure in the site will be improved and a new electronic market will arise, next to a hig h density residential area and a park.

The old water stream will be revealed and green structures will connect existing parts of green.

Further development of residential and commercial buildings will happen along the existing grid of streets, making it a more feasible and sustainable project as energy is saved by reusing built structures.

Meanwhile, changes are made along the railways. Where used to be a large shopping mall we propose a 400 meters hig h tower relocating the I’Park shopping mall in its platform, together with the Yongsan station where visitors come by train, metro,monorail,or simply leave their car at the parking facilities provided underneath.

The rest of the process in the coming decades evolves like a viral process reinforcing the activities in the main local streets of the existing neigbourhood before they receive the new densities around.

III

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Phasing

Lifetime City

IV

Water

`Almost every river and stream, up to the smallest mountain trickle, has been modified into straig ht lines of concrete trenches. The reason given for such a radical and widescale bio-engineering project was ``flood prevention. ...countries are now actively restoring rivers and streams back to their natural state.

The benefits include increased water quality, management costeffectiveness,and flood control.` ’ ‘ Tim Edelsten of Birds Korea Yongsan is located in the middle of an area that faces a hig h risk of flooding. During the heavy rains in summer the surrounding mountains cannot infiltrate this amount of water, with as a result the water flowing into Yongsan. To diminish the risk of flooding we propose natural ways of drainage. The old river will transport the water directly to the Han river.

The surface is normally below the groundlevel. An extra level along the river and a basin can be filled during heavy rainfalls. Porous pavements and plantation raise the infiltration capacity of the soil. Plantation also decreases the temperature in a city by evaporation and on top of that it also absorbs CO2.

V

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Water Infiltration to take large amounts of water into the ground to prevent surface runoff.

Evaporation to bring back the water in the atmosphere and to diminish the temperature in the city.

Absorption of CO2 to meet greenhousegas reduction.

Insulation due to thick layers of permeable soil on green roofs.

Natural drain in rainy days by bringing back the river.

Flood capacity in second profile of the river.

air pollution

Temperature rises in Seoul 2,4 °C over the past century CO2 emissions are high 63,6% caused by building 26,9% caused by transportation Source: Seoul M. Government

Lifetime City

VI

Green structure

Japanese White-eye

Azure-winged Magpie

Azure-winged Magpie

Balck-naped Oriole

Green structure

We introduce plantation and green structures within the hig h density areas. This will bring people even from outside our site closer to the new Yongsan National Park and to the waterstream in the site.

Siberian Chipmunk

Furthermore it connects the elements of the green itself. flora and fauna will profit from the connections. It will foster the biodiversity in the city. The biodiversity in Korea is at risk due to global warming,desertification,wildlife extinction,rain forests reduction,acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer, marine pollution and air pollution.

Racoon dog

Still, Korea has a relatively large variety of flora and fauna compared to other temperate regions given the country`s small area (99,000 km2), with over 30,000 species, including forest and marine resources. It`s endemic species consist of animals (64%), fungi and lichen (6%), plants (12%), protists (14%), and prokaryote (4%).

Red squirrel (black Norph)

Korean Hare

By connecting green structures in the city,the habitat of animals will directly increase. The variation in type of green,such as Korean pine forest,open field or waterbank,promotes the diversity in fauna. Also plants will be able to spread.

VII

Muskrat

Biodiversity. Data from: Fourth Nationa l Report to the Convention on Biologica l Diversity

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Green structure By using as much surface as possible for infiltration and green structures we were searching for sustainable renewable forms of energy.

The expectation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government is that hydrogen energy and geothermal energy will increase in share. Research has been done and good examples of obtaining energy can be found in countries like Germany. New buildings in Seoul such as the City Hall include geothermal heat pumps. In 2012 there are in Korea 700 locations with heat pumps can be found. In the future this amount can increase. The pumps can be used for large building complexes and for district heating. Each of the nine districts in our site could use such a system. Also hydrogen energy can be used for instance by the buses that drive throug h Yongsan.

Lifetime City

VIII

Sections

IX

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Sections

Lifetime City

X

Perspective

XI

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Perspective

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XII

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Lifetime City

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