SPACE November 2024 (No. 684)
Project Seoullo 7017
Architect MVRDV
Location Cheongpa-ro, Mallijae-ro and surrounding area, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea
Length 1,024m
Competition year Jan. 2015
Construction period Dec. 2015 – May 2017
Opening May 2017
Client Seoul Metropolitan Government
2012 Received safety rating D for the Seoul Station overpass, following similar ratings in 2000 and 2006
2013 Plan announced to demolish the Seoul Station overpass by 2015
Sep. 2014 Announcement of the Seoul Station overpass park project
Oct. 2014 Ideas competition for the use of Seoul Station overpass launched
Jan. 2015 Announcement of the Seoul Station 7017 project, international design competition launched
Mar. 2015 Formation of the citizen committee
May 2015 MVRDV’s ‘Seoul Arboretum’ selected as the winning design
Dec. 2015 Groundbreaking ceremony for Seoullo 7017
May 2016 Announcement of the Comprehensive Development Plan for Seoul Station Area
May 2017 Opening of Seoullo 7017
Sep. 2018 Announcement of the Seoullo Phase 2 Connection Path (hereinafter Connection Path) project—establish public-private governance
Sep. 2018 International workshop for the Connection Path, with participation from 7 Alley Architect teams and Winy Maas
Nov. 2018 Ideas competition for the Connection Path launched
Nov. 2019 Opening of 8 base facilities for the urban regeneration activation project around Seoul Station
Mar. 2020 Connection of Seoullo 7017 and the Metro Tower through an aerial walkway
Oct. 2020 Connection of Seoullo 7017 and the Seoul Station through an aerial walkway
Dec. 2020 Basic plan completed by Alley Architects for Connection Path, named it Seoullo Public Path and announced plans to implement a pilot project by investing 10 billion KRW by 2022
June 2021 Completion of the Seoullo Side Path as part of Seoullo Public Path
Aug. 2023 Announcement of the plan to make Seoul Station a National Symbolic Space
June 2024 Citizen ideas competition for the conceptual design of Seoul Station space launched
June 2024 Master plan bidding announcement for spatial improvement around Seoul Station
July 2024 International competition for spatial planning around Seoul Station launched
interview Yang Keunbo principal, Urban Architectur Laboratory SUM × Youn Yaelim
Youn Yaelim (Youn): Last year, Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) identified Seoul Station as a potential National Symbolic Space and kicked off call for a master plan to improve the surrounding area. This has led to speculation that Seoullo 7017 might be demolished, despite it only being 6 – 7 years since it first opened. What are your thoughts on this?
Yang Keunbo (Yang): When Seoullo 7017 was first introduced, it came with high expectations. However, concerns were raised about possible traffic congestion and increased maintenance costs over time, and some critics dismissed it as a political move to build up the mayor’s achievements. While the project did meet the general outline of its original plan when it opened, there were noticeable shortcomings at the level of the finer details. This was largely due to financial limitations in Korea’s public construction process, where budgets are typically based on previous public projects. Seoullo 7017 was highly praised as a project that symbolised a shift from a car-centric urban developmen...
