Magok updates

Last month, ULI organized a presentation of Magok District, starting with an update by SH Corporation, and a visit of the recently inaugurated Seoul Botanic Park, the most significant addition to the puzzle since our 3-part, May 2018 focus (Framing Magok (Part I - Location) / Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster) / Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)).

'Definitely a greenhouse, and the effect that comes with one. Inside Seoul Botanic Park / 서울식물원. Magok District Seoul' (20190528 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1133291466761969665)

As expected (see the second part of that focus), bringing big players in innovation proved much easier than building a diverse and open startup ecosystem, which requires among other things a vision, planning, and free urban spaces for creativity to bloom. SH decided to devote a stretch along the waterway to a more open neighborhood (명소화거리). Let's hope it will remain low rise, not overly scripted, and free from the usual storytelling and franchises. 

Like the MICE strategy, this happens very late in the process. I couldn't help but think about Canal Walk. Cornerstone hot spots like this new street or the Magok Square should be ready from day one, with the rest of the city revolving around them, not a just final touch supposed to add some sort of soul to a big development.

As I put it in the DMC-Songdo parallel, particularly for a New Town, 'sequence is of the essence'.

'Urban planning sans urban planning. This is where Magok District's 명소화거리 will rise. A potential cornerstone for the whole neighborhood, unfortunately added very late in the project, like Sondo's CanalWalk. Hope it will be low rise, not flashy, but sustainable' (20190528 - https://twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/1133291466279702528)

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Riding along 'horizontal verticals' in Magok District (Part III)

This is the final part of my focus on Magok District:

1. Framing Magok (Part I - Location)
2. Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster)
3. Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)

The future Seoul Botanic Park will feature 3,0000 plant species (its flower-shaped indoor facility - bottom right - is already visible from a distance).

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3) Magok's lifespace


If Gangseo-gu is not an usual darling for real estate speculators, Magok scores much better than most Seoul neighborhoods. Beyond its potential and dynamics in terms of location, connectivity, or research hub, people seem to believe in its quality of life, and to trust SH Corporation for delivering the goods.

Rebranded two years ago Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation*, this public institution has led the development from its early stages, with a mandate to put families, environment and sustainable mobility at the core of the project, a clear difference with other innovation clusters where business preempted everything.

Seoul Business Agency (SBA) did play a central role in Magok as it did in the DMC, but in the latter, residential developments were secondary, and not considered as a key factor of success. And we saw how the Gale International - Posco tandem struggled in Songdo.

Pangyo too enjoyed a partnership between national and local authorities for its Pangyo Techno Valley (Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion established in 2010), but for its residential areas, it only had to surf on the Bundang wave, and from the start flush with private money, that very hyped 'New Town' got 'blessed' with more than a few luxury residences.

Like Pangyo, Magok started essentially from scratch. Revamping Guro Digital Complex, and supporting its evolution into a XXIst century G-Valley demands different efforts from Seoul and Kicox (Korea Industrial Complex Corporation).

Magok wasn't dragged down by ailing neighborhoods in need of regeneration. The central role of public authorities is a guarantee that everybody will profit, not a sign of destitution. I don't think Magok will become as 'bling-bling' as Eastern Gangnam either, but I don't see that as an inconvenient.

* 

How does this 'common good' approach translate into the landscape? For instance, beyond the central park, you don't have a collection of green spaces, each one managed by a gated apartment complex, but neighborhood parks connected by green corridors between open blocks. Branded M-Valley by SH Corporation, the residential complexes remain relatively low rise compared to other recent projects this side of the Han River, keeping in mind that this is a first development. Even if we're still in the classic 'apateu' model, there could be a greater sense of open community than in Pangyo's luxury town houses or from the top of a Songdo penthouse...

The green corridors are wider than Yeonnam-dong's 'Yeontral Park' (the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail), but without the streets, shops or restaurants on their sides, and only a few tables to picnic here and there, which minimizes noise pollution for the residents.

As I noticed before, along large sections of Seoul Botanic Park, blocks devoted to research centers sit right across the street (e.g. for the moment LG Science Park and Kolon One and Only Tower), which could be seen as a form of privatization, but could also become a motivation for them to open up, to let visitors roam their own land, to propose services that would flourish along the frontline in probably more anarchic ways, to blur the lines of a strict zoning. 

Tadao Ando's LG Art Center (see part II) provides a clearer example of how local communities can benefit from private infrastructure: parts of the program will involve residents, and the venue will eventually belong to Seoul city. 

For the moment, residential and research blocks stand out, and local businesses mostly develop around subway stations. The first significant hotel to open in the neighborhood mirrors its positioning: overlooking the park, Courtyard by Marriott is not the chain's most luxury brand, but provides quality stays for both business people and families.

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Seoul issued guidelines and specs early in the project to make sure that environment, accessibility, or bicycle lanes were taken into account:

Water collection and filtering systems embedded in the buildings, roads, or parks

Accessibility and security at pedestrian crossings

Pedestrian crossings again, this time for bicycle lanes, always a tricky moment for cyclists

With its flatness and absence of major disruptors in its core (hills, river, railways, highways**), Magok District is perfect for cycling. 40% of all roads will have dedicated lanes, in a continuous network connecting the new neighborhood and its Seoul Botanic Park to the Hangang backbone. Beyond a 'Ddareungi' special zone facilitating commuting and leisure rides, or many bike parking facilities, four bike storage systems will be available at subway stations.

Bicycle-friendly Magok (left, one of the green diagonal corridors between apartment blocks - right, a protected bike lane that could be wider, like for instance the one along Seongmisan-ro in Seongsan-dong).

Magok's bicycle network

So it seems that even in this early stage, Magok is aiming at to the vision I finished my 2013 update with (see 'Magok District on cruise mode'):

"Now the most important remains to give some soul and consistence to this alleywayless place. You want to see residents and researchers venture beyond their homes and campuses, roam the streets, enjoy the city. The park and diagonal canal can give purpose, but let's not forget to optimize every single street for pedestrians and bicycles, make this neighborhood a destination from all directions, in continuity with Hangang Park, and the new neighboring communities (Banghwa, Balsan...)."

*

As usual, as an urbanist, I would have done things differently; Magok District doesn't signal a revolution in the Korean New Town or the Korean innovation cluster models. Yet it redefines Gangseo-gu, and beyond Southwest Seoul. It might even demonstrate that a big residential and business project South of the Han River can succeed without arrogance. What matters is that, ultimately, people live happily together in a place where trees, bicycles, and fellow earthlings are welcome.

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* see "Seoul summerscapes: death, taxes, and budongsan" 
** if Gonghangdae-ro is a wide and busy axis, it can't be compared to the Gyeongbu Expressway that separates Seopangyo and Dongpangyo

Riding along 'horizontal verticals' in Magok District (Part I)

As we've seen before*, Magok District deserves specific attention as Seoul's last big chunk of undeveloped land (until they decide to chop off all remaining mountains), and one of Korea's ambitious innovation clusters.

If new pieces keep being added every now and then to this urban jigsaw puzzle, recent weeks have seen major developments and PR operations, particularly with the inauguration of LG Science Park by MOON Jae-in, two years after PARK Geun-hye's speech at its groundbreaking ceremony. Of course, since many initiatives in Korea boil down to real estate, a lot of this PR aims at promoting new residences in a neighborhood that's been rather overperforming the market.

Time seems ripe for an update on Magok's narrative, reality, and fundamentals. Could it mark an evolution in Seoul's postwar urbanism (for the big picture, see 'Inhuman, all too human Seoul')? Certainly not a real disruption, since in many ways it remains a classic, zoned Korean 'New Town'. And the focus being on business, let's see how this 'swamp thing' can compares to - or coopetes with? - neighborhoods I've seen rise from a landfill (Digital Media City), the sea (Songdo), or a valley (Pangyo).

Like my 2013 focus on the DMC and Songdo***, I'll slice this one into 3 pieces:

1. Framing Magok (Part I - Location)
2. Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster)
3. Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)

'Magok's future Seoul Botanic Park' (20180518 - www.instagram.com/p/Bi6Wi5illxo)

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1) Framing Magok

What better image to help you grasp the scale and level of completion of the 3.6 M square meter Magok District than this recent aerial view?

Magok District from above in 2017 (Seoul Metropolitan Government)

Stretching over Magok-dong and Gayang-dong, Magok District lies at the very heart of Gangseo-gu, which badly needed a center to make better sense. It's articulated around the gu's backbone: its road to Gimpo Airport, Gonghang-daero.

• To the West: Banghwa-daero, Banghwa New Town, and Gonghang-dong which hosts the airport. 
• To the North: Olympic Expressway and the Han River. 
• To the East: Gangseo-ro (East), and Deungchon-dong. 
• To the South: the new Balsan District and Gangseo Agricultural and Marine Products Market.

Actually, only a tendril of Seoul Botanic Park - but a most essential one - reaches the Han River. Most of the district remains under Yangcheon-ro, blocked to the West by the Seonam Water Recycling Center, and to the East by Gungsan, a cute hill which I hope will be preserved, along with the village at its feet.

Magok's four defining dimensions were 'industrial', 'business and commercial', 'residential', 'parks and green', with zones clearly visible from the initial masterplan:

Within the district, three main axes have been created to border its 503,000 sqm park:

• Magokjungang-ro to the West, with Magok Station (Line 5) at the intersection with Gonghangdaero, and Magongnaru Station (Line 9, and soon AREX) to split what's North of it into two even parts. If Gongangdaero is as wide as a highway, Magongnaru area is booming around the relatively narrow winding road leading to previously developed Banghwa-dong. 
• The much quieter Magokdong-ro to the East separates for the moment two LG research blocks, with Kolon's spectacular One and Only Tower (!) at the interection with the third axis.
• Magokjungang 10-gil marks the park's Southern border, with LG Science Park on the frontline (obviously, LG's L still stands for Lucky; the early bird did catch the worm).

So this is basically the frame being filled step by step...

'#MagokDistrict map keeps filling up (ad in my mailbox)' (20141207 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/541499306344448000)

 ... its central park still missing, but continuously advertised as a key asset:

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Keep in mind this brief framing of Magok District when we move on to its business purpose (Part II) and living environment (Part III). It already reveals precious advantages:

• a simple, compact, and flat map
• seamlessly integrated to its urban vicinity, unlike Songdo, or even Pangyo (highway) and the DMC (railway). As you know, I value "urban continuity" as a key factor of success.
• even if it's located in the capital's far west, Magok District is very close to the airport (a clear advantage over Pangyo for instance), but also directly connected to the historic center (Gwanghwamun via Line 5), and to key business hubs (e.g. Yeouido, Yeongdongdaero via Bongeunsa Line 9). When AREX opens at Magongnaru Station, the synergies with DMC and Guro Digital Complex, both one stop away, will be even easier.
• in spite of the Olympic Expressway, Magok provides a unique corridor to the Han River, and its park enjoys relatively little competition in a wide radius. Can it bring Gangseo-gu's half million inhabitants closer together, and reach beyond?

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* e.g. "Magok District on cruise mode", "Magok District: SIM City as in "Seoul Intra Muros"? Alleyways as in "Seoul Inter Muros"?", all posts related to Magok District.
** "Songdo, DMC: sequence is of the essence (Part I)", "Part II", "Part III"