A Tour of Seoul’s Streetside Architecture (8): Sejong-daero

Seoul Station will not be solely a terminal as a vacation spot for vacationers arriving in Seoul, but additionally the beginning of their journey in Seoul. It served as a significant hub of floor transportation earlier than different modes of transportation have been developed. The newly renovated Seoul Station boasts big glass curtain partitions.* Subsequent to it’s the outdated historic constructing of former Seoul Station. It’s a pink bricked constructing with a inexperienced domed roof and synthetic ornamental stones. The previous Seoul Station constructing is inbuilt a European-style structure and boasts unique magnificence.

* Curtain wall: An outer overlaying of a constructing that’s non-structural, utilized solely to maintain the climate out and the occupants in, and often fabricated from glass or metallic plates.

This former Seoul Station constructing has been reborn as Tradition Station Seoul 284. It options Renaissance architectural components and restored the unique design of Gyeongseong Station of 100 years in the past. 284 is called after the historic web site variety of the outdated Seoul Station. Reopened in 2011, Tradition Station Seoul 284 was reborn as a cultural complicated by recreating the 1925-era Gyeongseong Station. In Tradition Station Seoul 284, you may view quite a lot of up to date artworks, surrounded by conventional architectural components akin to Renaissance decorations, stained glass and pink bricks. It’s a place the place historical past meets the longer term.

In entrance of Seoul Station, you may see a protracted overpass above busy street site visitors. Above the railway of Seoul Station is an overpass that linked the east and west of Seoul within the Seventies. Nevertheless, it turned deteriorated over time and was judged unsafe as a vehicular street. After a number of discussions, the overpass was reworked into a brand new facility as an alternative of being demolished. That’s how this 1,024-meter-long overpass was reborn as a pedestrian path open to the general public. First, let’s look across the Traveler’s Lounge, which resembles the form of a circle and is situated proper under the pedestrian path.

The pedestrian path is called Seoullo 7017, which implies “an overpass inbuilt 1970 that reworked right into a pedestrian path in 2017.” Well-known Dutch structure agency MVRDV proposed to show the overpass right into a botanical backyard in addition to a dangling backyard by planting varied flowers and bushes. At the moment, Seoullo 7017 consists of varied flowers and bushes, an observatory and a customer middle. Most notably, it gives a panoramic hen’s-eye view of downtown Seoul.

Strolling down Sejong-daero, you may see many trendy high-rise buildings. Amongst them, a two-story conventional hanok constructing simply catches your eyes. It’s Sungnyemun Gate, an emblem of Seoul in addition to Korea’s primary nationwide treasure. Sungnyemun Gate is among the 4 gates inside Hanyangdoseong, the Seoul Metropolis Wall, which surrounded Hanyang (the previous title of Seoul) for 600 years. It is usually known as Namdaemun Gate as a result of it’s situated within the south of Seoul. As roads have been constructed round it, Sungnyemun Gate is at present composed of a part of the fortress and a gate solely. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless the oldest picket construction in Seoul and the biggest among the many gates that exist at the moment.

Sungnyemun Gate consists of granite blocks, an arch-shaped Hongyemun* and a two-story picket pavilion with 5 entrance sections and two aspect sections. A hipped-roof means a trapezoidal roof. Sungnyemun Gate’s hipped-roof is inbuilt a multi-cluster bracket fashion.* The roof is colourful, much less curved and durable, which is the architectural traits of the early Joseon dynasty. For those who take a look at the cluster brackets* below the eaves, you can be shocked how elaborately they’re connected.

Seoul Plaza has a spacious garden that faces Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway, which is well-known for its lovely panorama. Seoul Plaza is among the main plazas in Seoul the place varied occasions happen. It additionally turns into an ice rink in winter. At Seoul Plaza, you may take pleasure in a full frontal view of Seoul Metropolis Corridor, which encompasses the previous and current. Seoul Metropolis Corridor is a brand new constructing with glass curtain partitions, that are paying homage to waves. In entrance of Seoul Metropolis Corridor, there’s the Seoul Metropolitan Library which transformed the previous Seoul Metropolis Corridor constructing constructed in 1926.

The Seoul Metropolitan Library is a restoration of the previous Seoul Metropolis Corridor with renovated exterior partitions, marble corridor and central staircase. The library is a traditionally important web site situated within the middle of Seoul, which displays conventional architectural traits. It’s a bolstered concrete constructing whose first flooring is adorned with granite blocks on the skin and different flooring are adorned, utilizing Renaissance-era lithin* methodology. It appears to be like like a stone constructing from a distance due to its tough texture. Once you enter the library by way of an outdated picket gate, you may really feel as if you’re touring again in time.

* Lithin: A technique of blending marble, cement, sand and water.

Reverse Seoul Metropolis Corridor stands a low-rise constructing that seems to cover from the encircling surroundings. To its proper is the standard Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway and to its left is the trendy Seoul Metropolitan Council whereas the exotically Korean-slash-Romanesque Seoul Anglican Cathedral stands within the again and Sejong-daero within the entrance. This constructing is the Seoul Corridor of Urbanism & Structure the place you may take pleasure in varied landscapes of Seoul on the rooftop Seoul Maru.

On the web site of the Seoul Corridor of Urbanism & Structure, there was Deogangung Palace, which was a shrine of Imperial Noble Consort Sunheon of the Yeongwol Eom clan. Later, it served as Japanese Basic Authorities Constructing throughout Japanese occupation of Korea. In 1978, it was used because the Nationwide Tax Service’s Namdaemun annex. Then, it was demolished in 2015 to mark the seventieth anniversary of Korean Independence from Japanese authorities and take away the hint of Japanese occupation. Throughout demolition, one of many 23 pillars was saved on the rooftop because the constructing’s building course of was written on it and the remaining have been eliminated. The Seoul Corridor of Urbanism & Structure consists of three underground flooring and one above floor flooring the place you may take pleasure in quite a lot of displays pertaining to Seoul’s structure.