'Sky Bridge' Halted Again... Shinbanpo 4 District Building Review 'Deferred'

Seoul City "Excessive Construction May Cause Discord... Recommends Removal"
GS Construction "Considering Relocation and Reduction of Skybridge"
Experts "Clear Standards Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has once again put the brakes on specialized designs for reconstruction complexes in the Gangnam area. The architectural review for the Sinbanpo 4 District in Jamwon-dong, Seocho-gu was put on hold because the included 'Sky Bridge' in the reconstruction design was deemed to "create a sense of disharmony." While some voices criticize this as excessive infringement on property rights, experts point out that specialized designs are being restricted based on subjective standards without clear regulations.

According to Seoul city and industry sources on the 27th, the integrated reconstruction project of Sinbanpo 4 District, which includes Sinbanpo 8, 9, 10, 11, and 17 complexes, was recently given a conditional approval with requests for supplementation in the Seoul city architectural review. There are a total of seven types of architectural review decisions. Among them, original approval, conditional approval, and conditional report approval allow subsequent project progress. On the other hand, supplementation, re-examination, rejection (dismissal), and hold decisions do not permit further project progress. Sinbanpo 4 District is currently in the relocation phase after management disposition approval, and although GS Construction was selected as the contractor and the design was changed and submitted for architectural review, it did not pass.

The issue raised by Seoul city is the Sky Community. The Seoul Architectural Committee instructed, "Since the Sky Community is excessively developed from a landscape perspective and may cause a sense of disharmony, consider deleting it, relocating it, or reducing its scale." A Seoul city official said, "At the time of passing the architectural review for Sinbanpo 4 District, there was no Sky Community. If the association organizes opinions and resubmits, the committee will review it again." Currently, Seoul city regulates that only minor changes within 10% of the maintenance project scope are allowed. Last year, Seoul city halted the bidding process for the contractor of Hannam 3 District, stating that "excessive design changes are illegal," which is in the same context.

The Sky Community in Sinbanpo 4 District is an integrated community facility installed across two landmark buildings. It offers views of the Han River and includes amenities such as a fitness center, caf?, and guest house. It is a design similar to the so-called sky bridge, a cloud bridge in the sky. Sky bridges are recognized as symbols of luxury apartments along the Han River, such as Raemian Chellitus in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Raemian Yongsan The Central in Hangangno 2-ga, and Acro River Park in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu.

However, Seoul city has recently been strengthening restrictions on sky bridges for landscape reasons. In 2018, the Sinbanpo 15 Complex in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, was also recommended to reduce or delete the sky bridge during architectural review. Seoul city’s position is that these cause disharmony in urban landscapes and that luxury designs fuel rising housing prices in Gangnam.

It appears that the Sky Community in Sinbanpo 4 District will not be deleted. A GS Construction official said, "The association, contractor, and designers are currently reviewing relocating or reducing the scale of the Sky Community."

Some criticize Seoul city’s restrictions on sky bridges as undermining the autonomy of reconstruction projects. A reconstruction association official who requested anonymity said, "While strengthening reconstruction regulations such as expanding rental apartments and the excess profit recovery system, blocking differentiated designs to enhance the value of complexes is excessive intervention," adding, "It also violates fairness with complexes that previously built sky bridges."

Experts say clear standards are needed for consistent reviews. Professor Daejung Kwon of Myongji University’s Department of Real Estate said, "Excessive city intervention can infringe on property rights, but sky bridges can cause traffic and environmental issues or create unease for viewers," adding, "However, clear review standards are necessary for stable project progress."