The Earth Park
The Earth Park comprises multiple layers with different intensities of intervention. In contrast to the Sky Park across the street from the site, which is constructed on a mound formed from Seoul’s waste, The Earth Park is formed by carefully uncovering and recovering the grounds and the history of the site.
Uncovering the Trace:
History of earthwork delineates areas for intervention
Historical satellite photo taken during the construction of the Mapo Oil Depot in 1976 reveals a clear delineation between the lower area of the site around the tanks that is heavily engineered, dug out and refilled, and the upper area of the site that is largely untouched. Our site design approach for the Earth Park takes cues from this historical line. North of this line is not suited for intense intervention because of steep slope and rocky geography. However, south of the line is already impacted by heavy earthwork from the 70s and should not be treated as sacred.
Working the Earth:
Remove and Reposit
North of the historical line, already in good use as hiking trail with paths leading down to neighboring apartment blocks, is left with minimal intervention. The area between the historical line and the southern edge of the existing semi-circulatory path is where architectural intervention happens. All five existing stairs leading up to the top of the Tanks had been constructed on new ground. Removing these stairs and creating horizontal access routes to the tanks will be possible without costly explosive excavation of the rocks, and will create new, more direct relationship between the main semi-circulatory path and the Tanks. The landscape between the main semi-circulatory path and the parking area is where active reshaping of the landscape takes place. The soil removed from the architectural intervention is reposited here to create constructed landform that creates stark contrast to other parts of the site. This landscape provides intriguing visual anticipation as one ascends towards the Tanks.
Layering the Landscapes:
Formed, Uncovered, and Untouched Grounds
Landscape of the park comprises three scenes – foreground, mid-ground and background. Foreground Landform: Upon entering the Earth Park, one encounters a wavy landform resembling ‘dongsan’, (‘hills’ in Korean) which references the overlapped hill lines characteristic of Korean landscape. The newly added landform provides extra soil depth for planting. Multiple crescent-shaped gardens boast distinctive plantings that provide a rich palette of colors and textures changing by the seasons.
Mid-ground Promenade: A semi-circulatory Promenade works as a linear plaza connecting two ends of the Park forming three areas for gathering along the path. This Promenade mainly is a pedestrian-only zone, but vehicular access is possible during emergency. Salvaged material from Tank 5 is used for the walls and benches of the plazas. Walking along the Promenade, one is naturally invited to an interesting visual hide and seek with the Tanks.
Background Screen: The existing hills provide a background screen for the Park. The rocky terrain with natural planting gives the sense of wilderness and untamed landscape. It is critical to preserve this natural screen in order to celebrate the tension between what has been there and what has just arrived.
Forming the Land:
Striate, Pull, and Lift
In order to provide comfortable access to the Promenade, topography of the Dongsan Gardens is modified in three steps: 1) topography is striated every two meters; 2) striation is pulled up and down a meter in plan every 50 meters forming a wave-like pattern; 3) peaks of wave lines are lifted up and down a meter in elevation to create a three-dimensional weave resulting in eye shaped pockets. These pockets form gardens and gently sloped areas for gathering. Edges of the gardens function as retaining walls and seating areas. The wavy lines become winding paths that are handicap friendly. Two direct paths cross through the Dongsan Gardens aligned with axes for historical access to Tank 2 and Tank 5
Working the Tanks:
Replace & Refill, Remember, Relive & Revive
Tanks themselves are reused in three groups to provide new experiences. Different parts of Tank 1 and Tank 2 are removed to be re-filled with people and events.
Tank 1, The Amphitheater: Tank 1 is removed, only leaving the tall retaining wall that once supported the stairs leading up to the tank top. This wall becomes the stage set for The Amphitheater that fills the site of Tank 1.
Tank 2, The Hall: Two new openings form entries into Tank 2, which will be used as multi-functional performance venue. The acoustic and visual qualities of the interior of the Tank create unusual opportunities unique to the venue.
Tank 3, The Tank: Tank 3 and all its surroundings including the original stairs remain intact remembering the trace of the Oil Depot in its entirety.
Tank 4 and Tank 5 are surrounded gently by a long new building which houses permanent and temporary exhibition functions, where the Tanks themselves become central exhibition pieces.
Tank 4, The Gallery: Semi-circular volume surrounds the upper level of the Tank to form The Gallery. Roof of Tank 4 is opened up with the columns and the frames intact to create Garden of Time. Vines are planted around one remaining column each year to eventually cover all columns and roof frames in the years to come. The old columns relive with what once lived on the site.
Tank 5, The Archive: Circular volume encircles the lower level of the Tank to form a long ambulatory gallery for permanent archive exhibit. The transparent roof of this space is covered with salvaged gravel from construction of the Park. A calmly overflowing Pool of Memory, made of black stone, is placed in the center of the Tank. This volume of black water revives the memory of the oil that once filled the Tanks.
Servicing the Tanks:
Buildings as Thickened Retaining Walls
Two distinct buildings serve Tank 1 & 2, and Tank 4 & 5 respectively. The ‘Monan’ Pavilion (‘Angled’ in Korean) is placed between Tank 1 and Tank 2. The ‘Monan’ Pavilion provides storage, restrooms, mechanical and electrical room, as well as offices and kitchen for a small café that serves The Amphitheater and The Hall. The northernmost wall of the building acts as a retaining wall. The retaining wall folds to connect to the two Tanks physically as well as mechanically and electrically. The ‘Doongeun’ House (‘Rounded’ in Korean) is placed between Tank 4 and Tank 5 also serving as a retaining wall. The ‘Doongeun’ Building houses storage, restrooms, mechanical and electrical rooms as well as archive and library, offices, and kitchen for a small cafe. One end of the ‘Doongeun’ Building forms a thick floating half circle as it meets Tank 4, becoming The Gallery. The other end forms a thin full circle as it meets Tank 5, becoming The Archive, a space for permanent archive exhibition.
Constructing with the Tanks:
Tanks participate in the tectonic
Two key details are developed to collaborate with the Tanks in the construction process. While the competition brief mentions that the steel plates of the Tanks are not stable enough to form main structure, the thick plates which used to hold large volumes of oil still hold some structural strength. For construction of The Gallery, 10mm-14mm thick steel plates of Tank 4, with additional bracing, work as one side of formwork during concrete pouring. For the construction of The Archive, 12mm thick steel plate of Tank 5 and the retaining wall support each end of the light transparent roof.
Mapo Oil Depot Competition Entry
(Pleasant and Inspiring) Collaboration with
Society of Architecture (Lee Chihoon, Kang Yerin)
Prof. Lee Sang-yun (Yonsei University)
Prof. Lee Yumi (Seoul National University)
The Kujo
[관련링크]
Uncovering Grounds