sojourns to the far east / day three / seoul

Its balik kampung time, man, and family is what matters most.well, at least to most of us.

from day three onwards till when i leave for shanghai soon, i would spend my days alone, like a lone explorer in an urban jungle, because all my friends here have returned to their beloved hometowns to celebrate Cheosok with their families. its a moment of thanksgiving for them.

and as i saunter aimlessly from one road to another, one of the things i admire about my travels here in Seoul is how there seems to be a conscious, strong willed and determined effort in creating linkages from the present to the past,from history to the future. and from nature to the artificial.

pride in native culture is a big thing here, and its pretty evident all over the place.

the night before, i had taken a midnight stroll along a dramatic river smack right in the middle of downtown.

"a river saturated on both cobbled banks with ribbons of lush greenery, peppered with textured stones and boulders, and periodically inserted with illuminated water falls and streams in its meandering channel,"

as explained before, this was a river that was buried a long time ago, left to die after being sacrificed in the name of progress, but resurrected recently in an attempt to reclaim part of the city's ancient history, whilst strengthening its agenda in becoming a city that emphasizes good design as part of its identity on the global stage.

"walking beneath a sacred midnight sky here at this hour, amidst dozens of cold towering buildings a level above with a handful of lights glimmering softly at the stroke of twelve, truly was for me, a moment of awe and solace,"

so now today, all by myself i was at another venue, that clearly reminded me the power of connections to the past. this one carried a similar agenda in the concept of urban regeneration, but it took this philosophy one step further.

this one was reclaimed AND retrofitted.
with a green,green agenda.

this was Hangang Park in Yeouido and this is day number three. so lets begin.



after walking from the main street and had gotten lost for quite some time, i had found the place. i needed to cross a footbridge, “Seonyugyo” (Seonyu Bridge) from the main road.



eventually, i saw the vast views of the city skyline in the far distance and a green island in walking distance, i knew i had arrived and this place was pretty much what i expected.







a park is after all, a park.



verdant stretches of tress and bushes, swaying lightly in the wind, decks of timber and floors of stone covering the surfaces on where you would walk and all that jazz you'd see in your head when someone says,"lets go to the park,"

but there was a surprise behind the lovely green facades prevalent here. a truly transformative surprise.

it seems the locale that i was standing on was originally many years ago, a sewage treatment plant, reminiscent of an industrial wasteland, where lifeless cold metal buildings linked with a complex network of smoking towers and stained tubes, of rusted bridges and rundown bunkers horribly dominated the landscape.

it was now however ... surprise surprise ... an Ecological Park ( Seoul's first one, in fact ) and it consisted of parks, gardens, streams and rivers linked to a Water Purification Basin and and a Water Playground. The Hangang Exhibition Hall was also part of this rejuvenating network of nature - inspired structures , whose existence had been transformed miraculously from what it had been to what it was now and was meant to provide clean, drinkable water to the inhabitants of the city just across the might Han river. and once it was cleaned up in 2004, it was transformed into a park.

"a space where nature was invited and had been encouraged to return, allowed to blossom indiscriminately, and to reclaim her rightful place and glory by the banks of the legendary river. crows and ravens soared across the skies, fishes and eels were swimming in its streams, and where leaves and flowers were swaying carelessly in the winds,"

life had returned.
and life had flourished.



man's intervention here was kept to a minimum. only places to walk and wander.



and occasionally rest in a sheltered piece of architectural history.



i was pretty comfortable.



and then i walked some more. and i arrived at this place. this was a run down building that had previously served as part of the sewage treatment plant, but refurbished minimally to serve modern needs in a dignified brick laced and concrete screened appearance. it was now the Hangang Exhibition Hall, simple and modern, presently showcasing the park's history and its future plans inside.



and an attractive spot it seems with the local anime / manga - crazy young populace.

i absolutely couldn't resist the stubborn temptation but to ask these "blonde" girls who were clearly posing as their favourite characters from some unknown whimsical gothic fantasy to take a shot with me too, and they even had a professional photographer with them at the time. and oh yea, they loved the hair and beard ... much to my delight.

2 girls, 1 guy in an ex - sewage treatment plant, beautified. now there's an interesting moment to capture for life, that's for sure.



so that's' what the building looks like. and notice the green concrete columns?



that's a clearer picture, right?

this area was a treatment pond, hence its " sunken depth" from the area above and the columns were part of the ponds shell structure that somehow acted in the cleansing process. its been turned into an artificial forest of branchless trees, organized in a structured grid, serving as breathing sculptures on a surface of dry pebbles.

a collection of living art pieces.



and as i left the hall, i proceeded to keep on exploring.
"much to see, much to do," i thought.



and as i walked on, i came to The Water Playground.

"a meandering arrangement of intricately textured stone pathways and timber bridges and benches, against a backdrop of even more beautiful trees. and the occasional small raw boulder here and there,"

it completes the eastern - influenced vernacular of landscape design.it really does.





and the vicinity next to this playground was the most exciting part of the park.
from an ecological point of view anyway.

this was my first glimpse of The Water Purification Basin that i had been anxiously clamoring to see.this was really exciting for me, cause this wasn't a typical water purification facility, with concrete ponds all over the place, turbines in the middle forcing water to flow unnaturally, and a sickening stench permeating the air.

this one was completely natural. in every sense of the word. and it was fantastic.



selected flora were carefully chosen for its beneficial presence and placed in ponds that would naturally filter out impurities, chemicals and toxins from the main water supply pipes. you can then walk above these ponds on timber bridges and decks across vast expanses of these ponds, admiring nature as she works effortlessly to keep water pure and untainted.

no chemicals. no poisons. no insolubles.
no synthetic interventions whatsoever.





only nature in an elegantly simple working arrangement. truly wondrous.




the water was also channeled into a greenhouse for irrigation purposes. i think maybe the greenhouse had a part to play as well in this natural order of things to provide clean water, but i cant say for sure. it does seem to serve as a control station of sorts for this area and pretty one at that, but i couldn't tell though.



fresh, clean water for fresh, clean plants from all over.
this is obviously, turning out to be a perfect system.



and so after i moved on, i exited the greenhouse, warm and humid, back to the open fields outside, windy and chilly. and i was welcomed into open spaces and walked nearby canopies of majestic pine trees sheltering me from the sun above.



i had spent about 4 hours here, and i had subtly enjoyed every revealing moment. i simply loved how this place was a physical manifestation of a perfect balance between our need for development and progress in human society, whilst celebrating and incorporating nature's unrivaled majesty and her inexhaustible ability to contribute to man's body, heart and soul, both as an individual and as a collective.



i can unequivocally say that i had felt soulfully rejuvenated after spending time here, and it simply amazes me how something as profoundly scarring on a city's landscape as a sewage treatment plant can be transformed completely into a garden of eden of sorts at the edge of a great river, and still provide aquatic sustenance to the city nearby.



this was a project that holds the promise of greener future for all of us on this planet, without needing to sacrifice mankind's unassailable momentum that spearheads progress ( ? ) at every corner of our precious earth.



now if only every desolate and seemingly hopeless slice of land could be transformed like this. wouldnt that take us one step closer to a paradise on earth?

lets hope so. i know i do.

after i had spent the better part of today surrounded by nature's incomparable grandeur. i had seen how she had so beautifully and seamlessly integrated herself in the rich spaces of an ecological park, enjoying a rebirth from the park's previous unfortunate history, filling every crevice with bursts of life, and breathing that life back into the souls of men and women alike.

a space that truly rejuvenates every part of a human being.

i now see the evening upon me, and i decide its time to move on, but of course the day was still young and my urge to explore had not been lessened in anyway. and before i left the guesthouse this morning, i had kept in mind another place to visit if i had the time.

i had the time.

and the place next i had planned to visit had an arresting and thought - provoking architectural designation to its name. i had read about this iconic building earlier on in the year back home and had won many design awards, in one of these several popular design magazines that flood the book racks of MPH and Borders.

i remember its numerous collection of 337,1 perfect circles transposed on its pristine uniform appearance in a light grey skin, and how it stood out like an extrapolated cube reaching for the high skies above the city, visually and impactfully standing apart within its immediate vicinity and all its adjacent neighbours.

It caught my eye then, and its catches my attention still, and now i'm off to find this contemporary landmark in Seoul's vast and immense urban arena. and the name of this icon?

The Urban Hive.
( and for obvious reasons, you can see why. )



i had remember reading about this building being christened the Urban Hive because of its unusual honeycomb exterior structure. at first glance, this was the concept of simplicity in form taken to a whole new level, but this honeycomb motif is not simply a matter of aesthetics.

this unique method of supporting the structural weight of the building with the honeycombed bare concrete exterior imparts unique benefits for the interior spaces of the building, cause there are no columns and or load-bearing framework inside of the building.

due to this sophisticated technique of construction, the Urban Hive is able to have a unique exterior motif and bigger spaces inside of the building than other buildings built in the city. there really are no interior beams or columns that hinder movement in anyway. a truly open plan system in an enclosed structure as i would soon see for myself.

as i approached the building, i am welcomed by scarce landscaping and outdoor stone furniture and directed to triangular shaped entrances that are formed as certain areas on the wall are left unbuilt on purpose. as i enter i am greeted by the chatter of people sipping hot coffee on a cold day beneath some small trees and catching up on good times with a laugh or two.

this sidewalk cafe was of course a cleverly inserted transitional space between the exterior and the interior of the building, between the hustle and bustle of the traffic outside and the comfortable camaraderie of the inhabitants inside.



as soon as i pass through the triangular entrance, this was the "corridor space" between the street outside and the rest of the cafe inside. and as i stood there, the first thought that crossed my mind was this question.



"didn't this marvelous, imposing concrete wall of perfect circles form an elegant structural envelope, that allows you to catch mere glimpses of the world outside, while ensuring some degree of privacy is still respected?"

i certainly thought so. happily so, i might add.



and i continued walking , i entered the cafe that was inside the building itself. and the exterior envelope still clearly dominates my view, with the insertion of V-shaped timber posts that added another layer of richness in the overall composition of the view of the interior elevation.

lavishness through simple geometry, i concluded.



what also caught my attention here was the way exterior light filtered through the perforated envelope. the internal ambiance was flooded with diffused light, subtle and controlled. the lack of strong light heightened the sense of cosiness within the hall, adding to the drama of the space and privacy was respected and protected.

it was an amazing contemporary space, dignified and geometrically refined.

it wasn't long though before i decided to leave. i felt i had appreciated the building for the wonderful simplicity it represented long enough after about an hour or so, and i wasn't allowed to access the floors above out of security issues. i looked around a bit longer and left soon.

time to fly away from the hive. i thought and of course, i did.

back to the guesthouse.