See the Final Booklets 2011

_{The student work of "Tall & Green: Seoul Overseas Studio" (i.e., presentation boards and physical models) displayed at the 2011 Open House that took place in May 2011 in Crown Hall at IIT.}

In the need for denser, more concentrated sustainable cities which reduce the loss of green space and energy-intensive transport and infrastructure networks, tall buildings have an opportunity to reinvent themselves as the typology for a sustainable urban future – focused centers of live, work and play with innovative forms, technologies, and environments to face the challenges of the future climate-changed world. This new typology needs be inspired also by the cultural and vernacular traditions of the location. This is especially important in maintaining the cultural integrity and continuity of any urban domain, but especially in developing countries where the embrace of western models is both enthusiastic and rapid. In short, tall buildings need to be inspired by place – both culturally and environmentally. 

This design module seeks to explore the themes outlined above to find alternative design approaches for tall buildings; to create high-rise buildings that are inspired by the cultural, physical and environmental aspects of place. The site for this project was a real site being developed by Daelim Construction in the Seoul Forest district of the South Korean capital, not far from the Han River. Students worked in pairs and were asked to undertake an urban study of the area to determine an appropriate response for both the program and design of a tall building, relative to the site. The studio visited Seoul and engaged with the real issues of the site, city and culture. The client for the project was the real client for the redevelopment: Daelim Construction. The studio also had an engagement with students and professors at Korea University.

The key output of the initial stages of the project was in developing an agenda for the building. This agenda may flow from a consideration of culture, climate or the physical aspects of the location (and ideally all three), but the agenda should inform all the design decisions undertaken in the development of the project. Students were free to determine the size, height, function, accommodation and responsibilities of the building, according to your site studies & research. Possible influential factors on detailed program (in no particular hierarchy) may be: site area, urban grain, neighbouring buildings, city requirements, community requirements, the commercial market, social responsibility, sustainability, aesthetics, proportions, plot ratios etc.