Abandoned Highway In Seoul Was Transformed In An Incredible Way
Urban development is an every changing thing. And an abandoned highway is a great example of that. But this is not the only example around the world. In Brussels, Belgium, for instance, where the local government has decided to transform an abandoned industrial site into a vertical forest. In Seoul, South Korea, an almost one-kilometre-long abandoned highway was transformed into an extraordinary lush walkway. At night, the lights are turned on, giving the Skygarden, as it is called, a beautiful and tranquil blueish glow.
The abandoned highway makeover is the result of a Rotterdam-based architecture firm called MVRDV. Interestingly enough, the project that’s officially called Skygarden, it’s actually called Seoullo 7017 over there. In any case, what they’ve managed to do is absolutely incredible.
They’ve taken a derelict concrete structure that was no longer in use and made it into something great – a 983-meter-long walkway covered in a beautiful arrangement of plants. In fact, they’ve used over 24,000 plants from 228 different species and subspecies and arranged them in a great and artful way along the path.
“Our design offers a living dictionary of plants which are part of the natural heritage of South Korea and now, existing in the city centre,” Winy Maas, founding partner of MVRDV, said. “The idea here is to connect city dwellers with nature, while at the same time also offering the opportunity of experiencing these amazing views to the Historical Seoul Station and Namdaemun Gate.”
“They [the plants] are planted in containers of different size and height and organised in groups of families. The families are ordered according to the Korean alphabet,” explained Maas. “This leads to surprising spatial compositions.”
Depending on the season, some parts will become overwhelmingly more beautiful than others. Like for instance, maple trees will be on the walkway during autumn, when their leaves will have an amazing array of colours spanning from green to deep orange and rust colour. But in spring, for instance, there will be cherry trees there in spring because of their beautiful cherry blossoms.
And besides the great foliage and plants on the walkway, there are also a great number of tea houses, art galleries, restaurants and even a theatre which will have access from both the walkway itself, as well as a series of ramps located all along it.
