The edge of the city is a specific condition. It is the moment where urbanization ends and nature takes over. The city’s edge is in need of a clear barrier, a wall against colonization of the natural landscape. It is different from the city, it isn’t an isolated island with its own inner world, it is a transition zone. The edge condition benefits of from both sides, the urban and the natural. ‘Burlam Mountain Foothill Village’ prepares and guides you on your way to climb the rough mountains.
Well-established patterns of movement of the current residents as well as existing natural air flows and water streams are preserved in this plan. In combination with careful planning and respect for the original landscape they form a backbone of the new village layout. Three major public strips are developing like branches of a tree from one focal point with market square and other village facilities. These strips are formed by two valleys marked by long apartment buildings and a wide expanse of terraced gardens connecting the new neighborhood to the conservation area. Within the two valleys, the public pathways are detached from the large apartment buildings. Resting on columns, the landscape is allowed to pass continuously under the building and at same time provide the lower apartments with privacy. The Northern river valley apartment building follows the bends of the river, emphasizing the mountain stream atmosphere. Here people can enjoy the sound of water flowing and cool down on hot summer days. The Southern valley with its shorter apartment building is covered by a flower blanket and pine trees. Existing small sheds and structures are preserved as a continuation of the community which has been thriving on this site for the last 50 years. The sloping strip between the conservation area and the new low-rise residential area is organized as a landscape of terraced gardens. Serving local inhabitants living in apartments as a place to grow their own vegetables, these patches continues a long-standing human tradition: the contact with soil.
The housing program is divided into two different architypes: large apartment blocks and low-rise houses. The mountain-like apartment blocks are situated to the North, at the edge of the forest, to allow for open public spaces with an orientation to the South. This positioning also leaves sufficient territory for low-rise housing blocks as a logical continuation of the conservation area. The intention of this low-rise part is to generate the maximum possible amount of housing units with direct ground level access. Having a front door directly onto a pathway creates a safe environment with a strong, communal feel. To provide the occupants of the two high rise apartments blocks with a similar sense of belonging, these buildings are horizontally cut through in the entire length by elevated streets. The ‘Canopy walk’ and ‘Panorama view’ are split into smaller segments around each entrance hall to ensure a big variation of small, local communities.
To accommodate as many as 2000 apartments and still preserve the mountain village atmosphere, we decided to include five other architects in our team. The mix of these architect’s ‘signatures’ is implemented vertically, in the traditional manner, in the low-rise section. In contrast, the high-rise apartment blocks are divided in horizontal layers per architect, like layers of the geological sedimentation process.
Our over-all thought is to create a village forming a part of the National Park. The new community lends its identity from the Park: a ‘Burlam Mountain Foothill Village’. Hiking is a national sport in South Korea. The trails of the Burlam National Park start and end in the Village and become part of its slow network of pathways. The landscape of the National Park flows naturally into the Village where the buildings are positioned in a landscape of Pine and Oak forests with seasonal meadows. The landscape between the low-rise housing strips alternates between village streets and natural landscape with limited private outdoor spaces and large, collective stretches with a mixture of trees, meadows and plants. With verandas and balconies overlooking the forest, even the apartment blocks possess a strong Burlam National Park feeling. The Canopy Walk in the building is spectacular. On the North side the pedestrian looks into the forest, on the south side overlooks the Village and the Seoul skyline beyond. A two-way cable car (up and down at the same time to reduce energy consumption and increase capacity) could be a nice feature to access the public Canopy Walk.
Multiple paths offers a diversity in transition from the city to the mountains: the River Valley Walk, Flower Carpet Valley Walk, Cherry Blossom Village Walk, Panoramic View Walk and, finally, the Canopy Walk. In the low-rise section semi-open blocks, each with its own identity created by plantings of fruit trees, stimulate the community by offering comfortable places to meet the neighbors and provide safe environments for the children to play. Covered with semi-green pavement material, the narrow streets are accessible by cars but these are inferior to pedestrians.
text by 'Branimir Medic (de Architekten Cie.)'
