Dutch designer wins Seoul's 'sky garden' project

By Jung Min-ho

Winy Maas

Dutch architect Winy Maas will take charge of transforming the overpass next to Seoul Station into a “sky garden” featuring over 250 different species of trees, shrubs and flowers.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Maas, the principal architect and co-founder of MVRDV, won a design competition for the project with his submission, “The Seoul Arboretum.”

“The Seoul skywalk will change the daily lives of many people in Seoul for the better,” Mass said. “They will have a pleasant shortcut through a green oasis in the midst of all the traffic and concrete. It is a walk through a park, a living dictionary of the natural heritage of Korea, connecting city dwellers with nature.”

The architectural studio has been recognized for its creative collaborations, such as the Grand Paris Plus Petit in France as well as its work on the Netherlands Pavilion at the 2000 World Expo in Hannover, Germany.

“Circular plant pots of varying sizes, a series of customizable activators such as tea cafes, flower shops, street markets, libraries and greenhouses will provide a catalogue of elements which will enliven the sky garden,” said Maas.

“In the future, the overpass will evolve with new plants and new activators to become an urban nursery.”

The city government will discuss costs for the project and plans to sign a contract with the designer in June.

The overpass was built in the 1970s to provide a connection between central Seoul and the city’s western districts. But the city government deemed the 17-meter high structure to be unsafe and intended to demolish it, banning heavy vehicles from accessing the elevated roadway in 2009.

This is expected to be the biggest construction project during Mayor Park Won-soon’s tenure.