DETAILS
SAMOO Architects and Thomas Balsley Associates received first place in the international design competition for a new Korean Cultural Center. The collaboration blends indoor and outdoor spaces including two rooftop terraces that celebrate traditional Korean beauty and advanced Korean technology through contemporary translations of the Korean garden. Korean stone masons and folk potters helped develop custom freestanding stone walls and Onggi-ware fountains inspired by the clay pickling jars used to make kimchi and which are ubiquitous with Korean cooking. Timber decks with stone seats and flowering shrubs frame a giant, dynamic media wall displaying images of famous Korean gardens. Contorted Korean Pines, Korea’s national tree, hold a prominent position in the landscape and contrast with the clean lines of the contemporary spaces. The new Korean Cultural Center experience will be expanded and enriched with a seamless transition into a series of urban gardens in the sky.
Westmoor Natural Science & Ecology Park
Westmoor Park is a 168-acre educational and recreational setting where visitors are encouraged to experience the natural world about them with the guidance of interpretive personnel. The park includes four separate areas, one of which is an Administration and Reception area with facilities for drop-off, group orientation, and parking. The Natural Science and E...
National Ecological Center
The threat of global warming prompted the government of Korea to develop the country’s first national center of ecological research. After selecting a site, the government conducted an international design competition, in which the team of Samoo Architects and Thomas Balsley Associates won first prize. This 189-acre park will combine public and private researc...
Magok Waterfront Park
As one of the six mega-project sites known as the Han River Renaissance Plan, the city of Seoul Korea is transforming the 300-acre Magok site of ex-urban sprawl and marginally productive agricultural land into a new major metropolitan park thematically focusing on history and nature. With over 300 entries worldwide Thomas Balsley Associates, in collaboration w...
LG Science Park
Description: SOM invited Thomas Balsley Associates to join their team for the design of the new LG R&D Science Park. Since LG’s mission is to “innovate through harmony and dignity” for customers and employees, the LG proposal incorporates a park that connects the R&D creates a harmonious synergy between LG and the adjacent community.
Architectu...