Removing Concrete and Connecting Walkways
Transforming into Waterside Leisure and Cultural Space
Seoul City Aims to Complete by 2026
A bird's-eye view of the winning design for the Tancheon-Hangang International Design Competition selected in November 2019. This material is an example illustration and may differ from the actual development plan.
The area near COEX and Jamsil Sports Complex along Tancheon Stream and the Han River will be transformed into a waterfront cultural and leisure space. Some parts of the Tancheon-Han River confluence, currently blocked by roads or used as parking lots, will be put underground, and a pedestrian bridge will be constructed to create a pedestrian network.
On the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it is carrying out the Tancheon-Han River waterfront leisure and cultural space project, aiming to complete the design by 2022 and finish construction by 2026. Previously, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon presented a vision in ‘Seoul Vision 2030’ to make waterfront spaces new hubs of vitality.
The Tancheon-Han River waterfront leisure and cultural space project aims to restore the naturalness of the river while creating waterfront rest and experience areas. Concrete embankments along Tancheon will be removed to reconnect the waterway, and parts of Olympic-daero (400m) and Tancheon-dong-ro (560m) will be put underground to improve accessibility to the waterfront. While maintaining road functions, the upper space will be connected to the waterfront to create a water-friendly area.
A bird's-eye view of the winning design for the Tancheon-Hangang International Design Competition selected in November 2019. This material is an example illustration and may differ from the actual development plan.
A bird's-eye view of the winning design for the Tancheon-Hangang International Design Competition selected in November 2019. This material is an example and may differ from the actual development plan.
In 2019, Seoul selected ‘The Weave,’ a collaboration between Dutch architectural firms and leading domestic and international designers, as the winner of an international design competition. The project features an organic pedestrian network that weaves together 630,000㎡ of the Tancheon and Han River areas. The waterfront boundaries will be curved to restore the waterway, and a pedestrian bridge connecting the east and west sides of Tancheon will be built. Despite its excellent location, the natural environment of the Tancheon-Han River area has been underutilized due to roads and parking lots. The city plans to restore this nature and transform the area into a central urban space.
Successful international examples of transforming urban rivers into citizen-friendly spaces include the Rhine, Rh?ne, and Seine Rivers. The Seine River in Paris, a representative leisure and cultural space, was originally used as a roadway for cars but was transformed by reducing the width of the road and creating a promenade. The Rhine River embankment promenade was created by putting the existing embankment road underground and establishing a pedestrian-only walkway above, effectively linking the waterfront with downtown D?sseldorf. The Rh?ne River in Lyon was transformed into a leisure and rest space for citizens by installing uniquely designed street furniture.
A Seoul city official said, "The Han River is a rare urban river in the world, and restoring the naturalness of the ecologically valuable Tancheon-Han River confluence is an urgent task. The Tancheon-Han River maintenance project will be an important precedent for transforming rivers into central urban spaces as Seoul develops into a future-oriented waterfront city."
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