Today we traveled to Seoul City Hall, a very modern, fully glass-walled building that is home to city offices and a variety of spaces for citizens. Architecturally, it is striking, as it has a very distinctive shape, with the building curving outward and upward near the roof. It also creates a sort of juxtaposition between modern architecture and earlier buildings, as it is right behind the Old City Hall, which now serves as a public library.
As we walked through the building, we saw a plethora of smart system integration, eco-friendly, and carbon-neutral designs, from the large number of solar panels on the roof to the geothermal power in the basement. We also learned why the building houses thousands of plants lining the interior walls, floor-to-ceiling. They do this to create oxygen, remove excess moisture, and lower temperatures, all of which reduce power consumption and improve the effectiveness of renewable energy, creating a carbon-neutral space.
We also learned about the city’s efforts to make other parts of the broader Seoul area bigger and better, providing additional resources and modernizing areas with fewer city resources. They talked about Gangnam as an example of how an area could change dramatically, saying that there used to be very little transportation infrastructure and that it is now one of the most desired areas.
They also showed us their plans for the city’s future, including several large, highly distinctive spaces with a modern touch and a sense of harmony with the natural world, such as a sky garden being constructed atop a massive concrete structure.
We also traveled to Seongdong-gu near Seoul forest to visit the Ttukdo Arisu Water Purification Center. It was quite strange in that it seemed to be a very secure facility, with a barbed-wire fence, a lot of security, and no photos allowed inside.
When we entered, we were in a lecture hall-type room where we learned how water is purified at Seoul Arisu facilities. We then received a tour of key areas of the facility, including the control room, pumps, and filtration rooms. The tour as a whole was interesting, but I did feel like some of the detailed information was lost a bit in translation from the questions asked to the translator and back, which is not super surprising, as many technical words are probably not commonly known in English for a translator. Though, because of this, I feel like it was slightly less beneficial an experience.
Overall, it was a great day! I am very pleased not only to have begun exploring the cultural side of Seoul but also to have experienced some of the city’s professional ideals and culture!