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Songdo IBD / Kohn Pedersen Fox
We’ve featured several master plans where countries implement eco-friendly community measures in their newest developments. The desire for a well planned, green city now belongs to South Korea, who announced not one, but two master plans (Foster + Partners’ plan soon to be featured on AD). For the Songdo International Business District, Kohn Pedersen Fox has created a functioning network of over 120 green buildings placed amidst acres of landscaped open spaces. Located on 1,500 acres on the waterfront of Incheon, the $300 billion plan will provide housing for 75,000 residents and handle 300,000 commuters.
More about the sustainable community after the break.
The district takes ideas from international attractions and combines them on the unified 1,500 acre site. For instance, a 100-acre expansive park, dubbed Central Park, helps make the city pedestrain friendly. Italianate canals, Savannah-style parks, Parisian boulevards, and a convention center modeled after Jørn Utzon’s iconic opera house will also be present in the scheme.
Mass transit lines move easily through the layout of parks and buildings, while high density residential areas are balanced with open spaces. In addition to creating a lush environment, the large green spaces will help control storm water retention and reduce the urban heat island effect.
Over 120 buildings intend to achieve LEED certification, making Songdo the largest private LEED development in the world. To make this possible, numerous green strategies are at work in the buildings including but not limited to green roofs, LED lighting, co-generation, waste management systems, and low-VOC materials.
As seen on Inhabitat.
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5 comments »
image rendering are superb…!
After living in Seoul for a couple months I find it refreshing that Korea is opening itself to more quality architectural design since as it is right now 95% of the resedential buildings look almost exactly the same. Its great to see these new designs and only countries like Korea can pull it off. However, I look at these renders and don’t really see Korea in it. Where are all the Korean signs? all the lights? Korea is a night country, why not a single night render?
And another thing, what is with the ripoff of the Shanghai Financial Center?
How does a 100 acre park help make the city pedestrian friendly?
its amazing how most of the developing world is starting to look ‘american’ in feel and approach. Most of these new-age master planning exercises seem to completely discard notions of cultural and contextual relevance. Dubai, Shanghai or as this korea bit illustrates, seem merely fragments of a larger blueprint of preconceived american architectural thought on what works. Or is global business looking for the same references to space. Crisp; hence, immensely maketable, but perceivably no soul..!
To sidp.
First of all, South Korea is already a developed country.
Second, your criticizm is very blunt and discriminatory. Explain to me exactly what defines this as “American”. And this project in particular definetly does not “discard notions of cultural and contextual relevance”. The majority of this project is already complete and I have been there myself. It is a very fine piece or combining traditional landscape and eco architecture