The Han River crosses throughout Seoul dividing the city into North and South. The vacuum that the river created in the city is not only physical but also mental. The river marks the dichotomy between urban structures,architecture, history, mentality, and attitudes. At the same time, the river becomes the meeting point of those differences and the common public space for all Seoul citizens to enjoy, forget, and “bridge” those differences.
As the south of the river started to develop, a number of bridges have been built to connect both sides of the city. Gangbuk and Gangnam are currently well connected by vehicle but pedestrian connection remains missing. Crossing the river for pedestrians is still a complicated endeavor.
ICING THE RIVER exhibition tries to suggest a complementary connection between North and South of the city empowering the idea of a shared public space. The project proposes to freeze areas of the river during the winter months in order to recreate former pedestrian routes between both shores. Applying new technologies similar to the existing geological freezing methods, we propose to partially recover the former natural conditions of the river.
Emotions are stored in a latent mode in our memories and can be revealed when confronted with a triggering experience. Icing the Han River attempts to bring positive emotions to one of the city’s treasures. Many of the citizens in the city still can recall the memories of a frozen river which unfortunately we haven’t seen for many years now. In this regard, the exhibition also intends to call the attention of climate change and the loss of original biodiversity in the city. This process of biodiversity degradation is speeding up and the Han River is a good example of it. The project pretends to bring the awareness to this issue and call for action.
