Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2019 - Collective City (also resilient and walkable)

Seoul is infinitely more walkable and pedestrian friendly than a few decades ago, but during the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, you can even hop from one World capital to the other* without leaving its center. For this second edition, two main venues have been added to the Biennale's horizontal axis, Seoul HOUR and the Seoul Museum of History joining the DDP, Sewoon Sangga, and Donuimun Museum Village.

Six months after the pre-biennale symposium and the Seoul HOUR inauguration (see "Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, Seoul Biennale 2019 Symposium"), the usual suspects showed up on opening day at Dongdaemun Design Plaza:

"Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism opening ceremony @ DDP Seoul.
Park Won-soon, Dominique Perrault, Seung Hyosang, Francisco Sanin" (@theseoulvillage - 20190907 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1170224195533279232)

The whole Barnum was supposed to move a few hours later to Donuimun Museum Village, but a last minute guest star crashed the party: because of Typhoon Lingling, all opening day festivities were eventually held in Zaha's landmark. Still, I decided to visit the Cities Exhibition on the same day, even as Lingling kept clearing her throat:

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#TyphoonLingling respecting speed limits at #DonuimunMuseumVillage (won't crash #SBAU's inaugural day) #SeoulBiennale #Donuimun

A post shared by Stephane MOT (@stephanemot) on Sep 7, 2019 at 12:54am PDT

I had a great time exploring the whole show without the crowd, and intended to finish with Ulaanbaatar, a city that moved me so much three years ago (see "Welcome to Ulaanbaatar Village"). Unfortunately, when I arrived, its 'ger' was being dismantled at the last moment: located on the main building's rooftop, it could have been blown away. If this precaution turned out to be unnecessary, it somehow hammered down even harder (without any nails) the core messages from a city facing tremendous challenges, but at the same time able to leverage the amazing flexibility of its architecture. This could well be the poster image of a resilient city:

"Ulanbaatar's ger at Seoul Biennale Cities Exhibition unfortunately had to be temporarily folded yesterday because of Typhoon Lingling. If the typhoon failed to deliver its expected punches, this episode illustrates at the same time the flexibility of Mongolia's iconic architecture marvel, and urbanism challenges faced by its sprawling capital.
#SBAU #DonuimunMuseumVillage #gerhub" (@stephanemot 20190908 - https://www.instagram.com/p/B2I17q3p6qi/)

Go enjoy the countless shows, conferences, and other events (including the parallel ones) across the capital, and don't forget to pass by Seoul Museum of History, with its excellent 'Collective Market City' exhibition highlighting the key role markets played in the city's evolution from its very beginning:

"Collective Market City exhibition at Seoul Museum Of History. SBAU Live Projects with Jang Youngchul, Tomaz Hipolito, Young Wookoh, 000간, Roh Kyung, Oh Jaewon, Bang Jeongin" (@stephanemot - 20190909 - https://www.instagram.com/p/B2MBHqYJYS0)

Hurry up - you only have a couple of weeks left to enjoy SBAU 2019 (until November 10):

SBAU 2019: seoulbiennale.org

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* yes, like last time, Pyongyang is there (this time at the Seoul Hall Of Urbanism and Architecture):

"North Korea meets South Korea at Seoul Biennale Pyongyang expo. Seoul Madang, Seoul HOUR. SBAU" (20190910 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1171319358485712896)

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017

Good to see the first Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism come to life two years after that kick-off symposium at the Seoul Museum of History! Roaming its venues is also the opportunity to see how the city's urban regeneration programs* advance, particularly in Seun Sangga, Mapo Depot / Oil Tank Culture Park, and Donuimun Museum Village.

*

From SIBAU to the Seoul Biennale

Ever since the event was announced, I expected something special. If you remember the context well, it was supposed to crown the presidential campaign of Mayor PARK Won-soon ahead of the November elections, by showcasing his vision and realizations, starting with the Seoullo 7017 inaugurated only months before**. PARK Geun-hye's impeachment and the mayor's failed campaign purged the biennale from that noise, making it all the more interesting.

To me, this inaugural biennale really started in October 2015, with a symposium opening up the debate about what (yet) a(nother) biennale should be, how to make it relevant in an already crowded calendar.

'City architect of Seoul SEUNG Hyo-sang at 2015 SIBAU - new keywords for architecture and urbanism' (20171026 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/658455212521197568)

Back then, the project was known as SIBAU (Seoul International Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism), which almost resonated like a tribute to Walter Gropius. The 'I', and the acronym altogether, were later discarded, probably because a Seoul biennale can only be international, and because there can only be one Seoul Biennale.

Announced last year, the theme, 'Imminent Commons', conveys a sense of emergency in troubled times. Nine commons were selected along ecology (earth, wind, water, fire), and technology (Making, Moving, Communicating, Sensing, Recycling) lines.

On Friday, for the V.I.P. preview day, PAI Hyungmin (co-director with Alejandro Zaera-Polo) launched the first edition with a tour of the cities exhibition at the DDP, followed by the opening forum featuring Ricky BURDETT, and a presentation of the festivities planned across the capital.

www.instagram.com/p/BYesjexllHS

Pyongyang opens the show with a cosy interior filled with HWANG Jin-yong songs, but lacking the portraits of KIM I and KIM II, masked on the wall to comply with anti-propaganda laws.

Pyongyang interior at SIBAU 2017 City Expo. Soundtrack HWANG Jin-yong (20170831 twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/903464391495917568)

Of course, Le Corbusier chimed in again*** to reunite both Korean capitals in the most urbanistically dystopian way:

Pyongyang 2015, Le Corbusier 1935, Seoul 1970... Corbu wins, urbanism loses (20170831 www.instagram.com/p/BYeutqWFZUO)

Among the more formally invited cities, Oslo proposed a bucolic catalogue of its edible natural assets, and Paris prolonged its presentation at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal.

So come visit the DDP for this expo, but don't forget to enjoy the 'off' parts of the festival, and side venues that deserve more attention than Zaha's last gasp. Again, to me, this complex is more sculptural than architectural, and a perfect example of the very negation of urbanism. It totally ignored the urban context, and would rather suit Dubai than the center of Seoul...

That (re)said, I'll focus on three of the seven other venues (I'll save Changsin-dong for other occasions).

*

Urban regeneration - 3 works in progress

So let's return to Seun Sangga, Mapo Depot / Oil Tank Culture Park, and Donuimun Museum Village (you can also check "Urban Regeneration: 27 Projects For Seoul" to refresh your memory).

SEUN SANGGA is still undergoing the first phase of its revamping (see previous episodes). The priority was to improve connectivity across the neighborhoods, and you can see a great deal of  new staircases and escalators all over the place. As demanded in the competition brief, the Northern and Southern halves of KIM Swoo-geun's cruise ship are being reconnected. And like most projects, this one added new neighborhood / urban regeneration exhibition spaces.

The main problem with this new and improved Seun? It somehow spoils key assets of the old one, particularly the view on Cheonggyecheon (there were probably more discreet ways to connect the deck and the stream than this bulky staircase), and the feeling of space when you walk the deck (I love Seoul alleyways, but adding new structures all along the way was a mistake). But this was a very challenging project, and if Seun's fragile ecosystem and spirit subsists, this will be a victory.

'Seun Sangga recovered its arms, with a massive staircase obliterating the best view over Cheonggyecheon' (20170831 - www.instagram.com/p/BYf512xlAvb)

"Sneak peek from #Seun Electronic Museum / #세운전자박물관, which opens tomorrow" (20170831 - www.instagram.com/p/BYfQ1_mFAD0)

MAPO DEPOT (now Oil Tank Culture Park) also lost some of its charm. Even the creative squatters who occupied the abandoned site have joined the main stream by optimizing their FAR with new containers, and surrounding their now legalized lot with a classic fence and hedge. I understand that you couldn't keep the tanks 'in their juice', but there's a bit too much concrete for my taste, and the cathedral-like volumes have shrunk too dramatically. Tank #3 has been spared, so you still can have a gist of what it used to be, but you can't get inside that one. Nevertheless a spectacular site, with rocks carved to prevent neighboring parts of the city from suffering in case of explosion, and a fun walk particularly during the Seoul Architecture Festival, with plenty of talks and exhibitions to enjoy.

'At the former #MapoOilDepot for the #SeoulArchitectureFestival. Only the ghosts of the tanks subsist. They lost their inner volumes, shells, souls.' (20170831 - www.instagram.com/p/BYiJ3y5l-uM/?taken-by=stephanemot)

I'll give DONUIMUN MUSEUM VILLAGE a similarly unfairly lukewarm review. Mind you, I'm more than ever glad that this section of Gyonam New Town has not been transformed into Gyeonguigung Xii's park (see the Gyonam saga), I was ready for significant changes towards gentrification, and I guess it has become a very pleasant spot for visitors, but. If you knew the place as it used to be, it feels like a caricatural movie set of it, without its main roles. Between the messy old place and this sanitized, manucured village, I wish the cursor had been placed a little more towards the past. I'm really okay with a new central place that transforms the dense eating/drinking cluster into a more open village, but the hanok alleyway where I used to eat has been destroyed and rebuilt, recycling only a few beams, and replacing the most charming curves with anonymous straight lines. And why not keep more vintage bits of walls, the tree that made that eatery's madang so cute, or the wooden windows that made that two story Japanese house so special? I had so much hope when the project started...

It's a bit like Sissel Tolaas' exciting Seoul smellscape (in one of the tallest buildings of that low rise neighborhood), where you can sniff scents captured across the city center, between the DDP and this DMV: smells are synthetized and amplified, not like the original, but a distant echo.

'Sissel Tolaas and her Seoul smellscape in the new Donuimun Museum Village' (20170831 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/903556640154173441)

Anyway, the site and its expos are definitely worth visiting.
 
Seoul shall use the space as a guest house hub after the biennale, but I hope it will host future editions as well.

Meanwhile, enjoy this first edition, and this ever changing city of ours!

*

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017 (20170901-1105): seoulbiennale.org


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* see among others "Urban Regeneration: 27 Projects For Seoul"
** see "Seoullo 7017, and more roads to Seoul"
*** see "Don't miss Le Corbusier in Seoul... The artist, not the urban planner!"

Seoullo 7017, and more roads to Seoul

Seoullo 7017 opens tomorrow at 10 a.m. for the public, and at 8 p.m., PARK Won-soon will officially inaugurate the pet project that was to be his launching pad for the 2017 presidential election.

twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/857000527665561602

Of course, PARK Geun-hye's impeachment changed the calendar, and Seoul's Mayor didn't last long in the race. But on election night, he managed to hijack MOON Jae-in's podium on Gwanghwamun Square with a mink dance followed hours later by more praise for his fellow school alumni, as part of a call for the new friendly government to support Seoul's future urban plans.

Of course, many projects have already been launched, and Seoullo (formerly known as Seoul Highline / Seoul Arboretum / Seoul Station 7017 ...) was only part of an impressive collection announced two years ago (see "Urban Regeneration: 27 Projects For Seoul").

Seoullo night fever. Where's the disco ball? #Seoullo7017 (Seoullo Blue Night twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/858105090804023297)

Furthermore, countless events have already been planned for 2017, culminating with the first Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SIBAU 2017), which will also highlight Donuimun Museum Village, still under renovation (reminder: that was the eatery hotspot initially planned for destruction, next to Gyeonghuigung, to make room for Gyonam New Town's park).

But the city wants to push further in all directions, old and new, such as: 
. a car-free Sadaemun (within the old city walls),
. a cultural hub around Sejong Cultural Center,
. a prolongation of the very successful Gyeongui Line Forest Park all the way to Hangang,
. more urban regeneration in Haengchon-dong (NB that's around Dilkusha, on the other end of Gyeonghuigung Xii / Gyonam New Town)
. ...

A clear focus on 'Gangbuk' vs 'Gangnam', but the latter has been overly supported over the past years, from subways to the COEX-Jamsil hub. As if on cue with the regime change, the city is suddenly announcing 1.34 million more square meters of office space in 53 disadvantaged neighborhoods (Suyu, Jongam, Myeonmok-dong...), regardless of the impacts it could have on a market already facing oversupply... not to mention the impacts on Seoul's cityscape, because urbanism rules would be broken to boost F.A.R. all the way up to 800%, and to allow high rise buildings... 

So let's see how the dialog between City Hall and the Blue House evolves. And let's hope they reopen the old projects of subway lines in underserved areas before the next mayoral elections (a classic, regardless of the mayor's political color).

Meanwhile, why not walk along Seoullo? You'll notice an installation by Hwang Ji-hae featuring 30,000 shoes, a tribute to the old shoemaker's tradition on Yeomcheon Bridge, where you can visit the Oh Shoe Museum. It overlooks the soon-to-be-reopened Seosomun Park on one side, and the railways on the other.

• See all previous posts related to Seoul Station 7017 (PS managing labels and hashtags would be simpler if they stopped changing names all the time)

 
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