U.S. architect says central Seoul project will become 'unique site'

(ATTN: photos available)
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Seoul's forthcoming international business district
will tie together old and new with architecture that is "on par with" its stature
as a world-class city, acclaimed
U.S. architect Daniel Libeskind said at a press conference here Wednesday.

Libeskind, noted for a number of iconic structures including the prize-winning
Jewish Museum in Berlin, is the master architect for the Yongsan International
Business District, or the Yongsan Dream Hub, in Seoul. The 63-year-old veteran
designer is acting in the same role in the reconstruction of the World Trade
Center site in New York, destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"The site (of Yongsan Dream Hub) is historical, located in the bent of the Han
River and in the center of the hub of life already," Libeskind told a press
gathering at the Seoul Digital Forum. "Yongsan Dream Hub is not an abstract plan
with pens and papers. We are considering both historical and contemporary aspects
-- a site linking pluralistic stories."
The 28-trillion-won (US$22 billion) plan is set to break ground in 2011 and be
completed by 2016, housing a 600-meter-high landmark building, hotels and
commercial complexes in Yongsan, central Seoul. Despite its highly accessible
location, Yongsan has been considered one of the most underdeveloped regions in
the city mainly due to the U.S. military facilities that have taken up a large
portion of the area for the past decades.
The military's Yongsan Garrison facilities are set to be relocated in the coming
years.
Calling Seoul one of the "most interesting cities in the world," Libeskind
praised the South Korean government's increasing efforts to refurbish and modify
its capital's appearance.
"It's a good idea for the government to have interest in design. It has a big
meaning for the next generation to transform Seoul to demonstrate we are living
in a pluralistic society with a variety of desires," he said. "With so many of
the arts of the country already at the forefront, I don't see why it couldn't do
the same with design."
Libeskind also urged people to overcome the notion that architecture is a
"provincial undertaking," in reply to concerns that overseas designers such as
himself could take away from the city's character.
"We live in a global society where even building a small thing has an impact in
the world much farther away," he said. "There are, of course, limitations in the
global architecture and this is why uniqueness is important. A global world means
we protect that individuality and understand the city itself is a spiritual
entity and belongs to its people."
Mentioning how landmark buildings in New York such as Rockefeller Center were
built during the Great Depression, Libeskind said the construction of the Yongsan
hub and is an "act of confidence in the future" amid the global financial crisis.

"Architecture is important in times like this," he said. "This is not the time to
go small and small, lose one's nerves. It is time to rethink architecture which
has a spiritual content and is truly part of people's lives."
The Poland-born architect founded the prominent Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989
and is currently working on over 40 projects across the world.
Libeskind is one of the attendants at the sixth Seoul Digital Forum which opened
here Wednesday for a two-day-run.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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