Tall & Urban News

Architect Thom Mayne’s firm Morphosis has released designs for a commercial building with multiple skybridges, called Sejong M-Bridge, that will be located in Sejong City, a new planned metropolitan center which is a special administrative zone in South Korea.

“In 2003, the government of South Korea announced ambitious plans to move the capital out of Seoul, in an effort to encourage more balanced development across the country,” explained Morphosis.

“Construction on the new city commenced in 2009, following a unique masterplan for a network of government and civic buildings linked end-to-end by skybridges and rooftop garden paths.”

As part of the city master plan, Morphosis proposes a walkable “high-line” for the new commercial development. The building will comprise commercial offices, retail units, a movie theater, public cultural spaces, and an observation bridge.

The 85,000-square-meter Sejong M-Bridge will be one of the first large-scale commercial projects to be completed in the new masterplan, with a multi-bridge form that references the lifted connections of the neighboring governmental buildings.

The design scheme is highlighted with a welcoming public realm in this new city, with a green park, outdoor amphitheater, and riverwalk connecting to ground-floor retail and cinema.

The architects lift retail units and dining outlets that are lined with the lifted pedestrian walkway, while at the eleventh story a skybridge links the three office towers with a public observation deck and retail space.

“Supporting the client’s desire to create an exemplary green building, the façade is wrapped in a distinctive brise-soleil, designed to allow for optimum shading, energy conservation, and views,” added the architects.

The building is under construction at the site and is scheduled for completion in 2019.

For more on this story, go to World Architecture.