This travelogue is for the assignment of the subject: ARC 5701 Architectural Exploration and Innovation. Students of First Year of Master of Architecture in UPM has went to Seoul for architectural visit and self-exploration.
“Exposing yourself to various culture is so vital towards personal growth� Author Dau Voire
Throughout the 6 days trip, I get to understand the culture and the way the local people live as well as explore the modern and contemporary architecture design in the city of Seoul.
Mapping the route of travel is another task that I enjoyed the most before embark to Seoul. Route planning is important for those who are aiming for budget trip as the transportation charges in Seoul is base on kilometers.
The best route is to travel in a loop.
This journal aims to showcases the collection of travel photography, capturing little things or exploring new angle of photo taking that people might have not discover instead of typical touristic photos that can found in the social media pages or websites
In sum, after collection of all the photos, the theme LAND of Seoul has set, which is to capture the Life, the Art, the Nature and the Design of Seoul.
It’s spring !
Its cherry blossom season! which also means it’s raining weather! We have been welcomed by the rain of Seoul on the first day. Despite the rainy weather, people are still carry out their night life at the famous and busiest street at Hongdae. It’s such a beautiful and shining light of night of Hongdae Street that lighted up the flowers of the season-cherry blossoms.
As
I walked by the streets of Jong Ro to capture the evening streetscape, all sizes and colors of signboards has filled the streets from ground level up to top floor. The shoplots are furnished with its unique external faรงade design. The street seems narrow, it is shared between vehicles and pedestrians. Vehicles move slowly and pedestrians will give ways once they realized or being signaled. Balancing the street space for pedestrian and vehicles has been the strategies to designing effective pedestrian movement in business district, giving pedestrian to choose their wayfinding without bumping with other pedestrian.
Express
Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Center, about 800m long containing 600 stores. The long shaped shopping mall is connected to many exits. Comfortable air-conditioned indoor shopping mall and spacious seating area with landscape design to enlighten the interior. A good public space always considered the comfort aspect by providing sufficient seating space for the public. This is the moment I get to captured, the moment of people enjoy shopping and taking rest.
Capturing
the life of local people selling famous Korean local food– tteokbokki, a fried spicy rice cake. It is a small stall spotted on the busy street in Insa-Dong. A small place serving only a few tables. People can choose to dine in or take away, easy and delicious comfort food to warm oneself in the cold weather.
Such a great opportunity to capture the life of the tourists at one of the place that I have visited —Gyeongbukung Palace. Gyeongbukung Palace existed since 12th century, it was the largest remaining 5 palaces in Korea.
I can still remember how cold it was when I was wearing the rented hanbok without the windbreaker. Taking off the windbreaker just for the best shot – feeling chill but worth it. On the same location but spotted different photo taking experiences. The photo below just speak what’s my intention of photography, exploring different angle of photo shooting other than typical touristic photo as the picture above.
YaKorea Hostel, Dongdaemun– a hostel that was hidden behind at the back street. Somehow it is easy to recognize for the cladding on the wall. My trip was received by this warm and welcoming mural art painting on the wall. The hostel is small and narrow whereby the only common area is the place where I can get to know new friends from Malaysia as well as oversea. It provide good service whereby a pantry is provided for snack time, a common table for resting, a computer desk for information searching as well as luggage weighing and drop luggage.
Seoul
is a place that encourage public to interaction
with art. Speech bubble board at the wall with sticky notes and writing medium was prepared for the public to write, to draw anything about Seoul. As an art lover, I will not miss the opportunity to pen down and left a mark on it. “I Seoul You�, a big signage was found at the City Hall to be written down on the stick note, I also done a quick sketching of City Hall for the magnificent glass building is where I stopped by on 6 April 2018.
My eyes is sensitive to colors of surrounding and I always tend to get attracted by something I see in contrast with. As I walked along the street in Insa-Dong, I discovered this hidden and quiet street. This is an exhibition gallery and art street designed with the theme “Tinga-Tinga: Let’s Be Happy” Tinga Tinga is a painting style developed in Africa named after its founder, Tanzanian painter Edward Said Tingatinga. The Korea Times, 2018
It is a collection of work of art of an African artist, with brilliant and highly saturated color as their design approach. Walking further into the street, this colorful glass has caught my eyes. Using the properties of a glass—reflection and refraction, the glass door design is similar to a kaleidoscope. Due to its colorful patterns with the transparency of the glass, it is able to attract human eyes from far.
The brightest stars in the darkest night! Such a romantic lighting that brighten up the little corner of the shopfront. It gives me a feeling of lying down on a bed of roses. It resemble dark street with the touch of the light on the green pasture. Definitely this is the great idea to attract more customer to come to the shops to stop by for a drink. Little landscaping intervention on the shopfront, act as restorative, uplifting place for the users.
Seokchonhosu Lake—one of the must
visit place to enjoy and be showered by the cherry blossoms in the park. The blooming cherry blossoms trees surrounding the lake, near the lake there is the tallest building in Korea—Lotte Tower. It is a great place to enjoy the walk in the park experience as well as indoor shopping.
Capturing
the flower of the season: Cherry Blossoms. This little corner spotted at the backyard of the Gyeongbukung palace. The newly grown little cherry blossom trees enlighten the backyard. I admire the spirit of season flowers, although the life are short, but it present its best images to live in the universe.
Love the color of spring—green and blue This
is the view that I captured when I walked up to the Bukchon Hanok Village. I was welcome by the fantastic mountain view as I reached the higher level of this historical and cultural village. The mountain has become the focal point in spite there are many other subjects around. Enjoying the aerial view of the villages at the same time, the courtyards are unique with many vases for preparation of preserved food.
Bukchon
Hanok Village, famous tourist spot with a special culture : to keep silent as you visit the village because this is the area where most of the homestay located. What’s fascinating me in this village is the building materials of the village, roof tiles, timber structures, brick wall and woodwork. Although it comprises of many materials but it give the feeling of harmony as the color of the materials are close to nature. This cultural village is also a place where you can capture one of the landmark — N Seoul Tower.
One
of the urban design project in Seoul is Cheonggyecheon River– transformation of 11km highway into a public space. It become a place for people to exercise : jogging or walking, a place for holding seasonal event as well as tourist visit spots. Every bridge has its own name and its own design and function underneath. Crystal clear streams reflects the bright orange color of the bridge.
A
modern steel and glass building with the building form design that is interpreted from eaves of traditional house of Korea. There is grand open space outside of the building where the theme of the year “I Seoul You� was located. It was observed that the entrance is strictly guarded. Next to the glass building is Seoul Metropolitan Library with Renaissance-style stone building outlook which is totally contrast to the new city hall building designed by iArc Architects.
About
the soul of design, this building is the most significant in the design industry of Seoul. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), in the other words can be describe as a place to dream, design and play. This building was designed from the hand of well-known architect— late Zaha Hadid. This building will be functioned as a hub to showcase and spread global design and creative industries through global exhibition and conferences. Even do not involve the event, it is also a place for visit, walking through outside and inside to experience the overall architecture design.
Coex
Mall — Another significant basement shopping mall in Seoul, there is Starfield open Library located at the middle. It act as major nodes to connect the both side of the shopping mall. The entrance is not significant as it is shaded by the seating area on the ground floor above. A small library but it is full of books, brightly design ceiling and glass to bring in maximum amount of lighting to the interior for better reading environment with many seating area provided for the public to enjoy reading.
Ewha Women University, designed by French Architect Dominique Perrault Architecture. The overall building design is similar to a valley that pass through the existing landscape. The design concept is blurring the lines between construction and landscape. Lines is all you can see when walking through the valley. Strips of steel panels and glass on both side of the wall, balanced by the horizontal element-the steps and ramp that is created along the path.
Sketching the season of spring in Seoul!
National Folk Museum in Gyeongbukung Palace, visitors get to know the history of how the Korean people lived, sustained and died in the past which the culture has been inherited until the present days. The experience of sketching under the shades with hanbok, it was special and great.
I
enjoyed the moment of Sketching while shivering in cold. Starfield Coex Mall, a green building with LEED Silver level certification. It is a building reuse project, a building that optimize energy performance with innovative wastewater technologies. It is the shopping paradise for global brands in fashion, accessories, beauty, lifestyle, and others such as movie, fine dining and exhibition.
This is the sketch of the interior of Starfield Library Taking the book rack with the big title of the library as the main subject of the sketching. A spacious library with a lot of reading spaces and materials supported by cafĂŠ and convenience shops around to cater the needs of the people. Hundreds of books with different languages and genre arranged in the rack. The rack itself functioned as the interior design concept that make the whole library looks huge and spacious. You can grab any of the books displayed on the racks downstairs or upstairs. Moreover this library is user friendly as it is suitable for all ages of society.
Sketching the evening view of Ewha Women University—the valley. The green roof has lighten up the greyish skies and the grey color steel and glass façade.