The overpass, which has become the subject of an international competition, has been located near the Seoul Railway Station since the 1970s and connects the main traditional market in the South Korean capital Namdaemun in the east with parks in the west. By the 2000s, it was dilapidated, and at first it was even planned to demolish it, but then they decided to turn it into a pedestrian bridge and a park.
This is a large structure: 938 m long, 9661 m2 area, and 17 m high. MVRDV proposed a modular and “customizable” approach for its reconstruction. According to Dutch architects, a "library" of native plants will be created for Seoul Skygarden, which will be planted along the bridge in the Hangul alphabet according to their Korean names. At the same time, the landings will be combined into "neighborhoods", which will help the townspeople navigate in the park.
In addition to rounded flower beds, “activators” will also appear on the bridge-park - café-teahouses, flower shops, street markets, libraries and greenhouses, which will revive Skygarden.
The MVRDV architects hope that in the future, Seoul Skygarden will become a nursery to grow trees for the surrounding areas. There will also be new staircases, elevators and escalators that will connect the flyover with the newly created "satellite gardens" around.
