Rewilding Seoul

This studio aims to elaborate a series of rewilding strategies for multiple sites in Seoul to reveal their immanent nature and mitigate the impact of climate change. Speculative, engineering-based, and holistic approaches, which take into account the cultural and physical uniqueness of the site, are necessary to successfully rewild any part of such highly urbanized and manipulated lands.

The initial phase of the studio is focused on investigation and site identification. Seoul and Boston will be comparatively researched, focusing on the lost and immanent nature of both contexts. The city of Boston evolved with an integrated park system that remains discernible. By contrast, Seoul’s development interweaves few connections to the mountains and a river that surround and traverse it. By researching how the two cities respectively underwent urbanization, and by recognizing what has been lost and what remains, each student will locate their own site in which to develop a rewilding strategy. Workshops on current climatic technology and the philosophy of wilderness of America and East Asia are planned.

The studio will travel to Seoul, Korea, to visit prospective sites. A one-day design exercise at the Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies will enable students to exchange ideas.

The latter part of the term is reserved for design research and the design of individual sites. Students will have a level of freedom in terms of their concentration, research media, and representation, although the importance of sectional thinking will be shared across the studio. The design process and the design product must proactively incorporate both the knowledge acquired through the workshops and field trip, as well as students’ own research findings.

This studio is open to A, LA, and UD student, and the instructors welcome and appreciate diverse disciplinary approaches.

Note: This studio will meet on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Jungyoon Kim will be in residence for all classes. Yoon-Jin Park will be in residence for the studio trip, as well as on March 4, 5, 11, 12; April 8, 9; and for the final review on either May 1, 4, or 5. This studio will travel to Seoul, South Korea. 

Projects