World Design Park

A ‘Metonymic Landscape’ of flow for urban life to unfold

The design of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park (DDP) in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects integrates a major multi-use cultural building complex with a new urban park in the centre of the capital city of Seoul. Here a former stadium and sport venue has been redeveloped into a multi-functional area for citizen to enjoy green space and cultural activities, vitalizing the local economy. The ‘urban-mega’ project was awarded to Zaha Hadid Architects / ARUP / GROSS. MAX. after winning first prize in a prestigious international design competition. The original brief for the park included the (‘pastiche’) reconstruction of former eastern gate of the Seoul fortress. To our surprise, during excavation and demolition works of the Dongdaemun Stadium, which started in 2007, various historical remains including parts of the original fortress walls were found. We adapted our competition design during the construction process to preserve and exhibit the excavated remains of the fortress walls and created the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park. The project allows for a seamless flow between ancient and modern, taking inspiration from traditional Korean gardens.  The integrated park and building connect many parts of the downtown area of Seoul. The undulating flowing forms of Zaha Hadid’s building were inspired by the fluid simulation of the flow of water in the Han River. According To Zaha Hadid: “the building has become part of the landscape itself”.