RIOS has released details of a new 100-year master plan included as part of its participation in the 4th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU), which takes place through the end of October in the South Korean capital. 

The firm's concept for the 'Hyper-Abundant City' significantly alters the upscale Apgujeong district by incorporating the urban fabric of the adjacent Gangnam neighborhood while extending an existing connection to the Han River. Ecological plots revealing vertical villages that are inspired by Hanok architectural traditions are protected by shoreline islands which the architects say aid in managing stormwater runoffs and flood mitigation. Finally, the plots are connected to each other through an interlinking series of open spaces that permeate the site.  

The river’s natural systems are relieved by the careful selection and placement of access points which minimize human activity while allowing land to be reclaimed and rewilded. Stormwater retention and other considerations are integrated into the communal spaces and social sphere. RIOS says these considerations further the pre-established history of nature-infused human habitation while introducing, at the same time, a "framework for future living."

RIOS Creative Director Katherine Harvey said: "Apgujeong has stood as a symbol of Korea's rapid economic development and accumulation of wealth for the last decades. Although it's become a thriving destination, as the city of Seoul prepares for a future with extreme weather events, population decline, and strains on resources, we see an opportunity to rethink the framework of the neighborhood, one that focuses on trading traditional, defensive infrastructure for biological systems that are adaptive and cumulative. This new urbanism will embrace dynamic weather while rewinding the ground with floodplain, valleys, and upland mounds as a base for buildings, structures, and infrastructure with a deepened connection to the landscape." 

"When designing districts, we look to the local fabric to celebrate the identity of a place and to bring joy and wellness into the design of the built environment. For the future of Apgujeong, we recognize the value in blurring the boundaries between land and water, landscape and architecture, city and building to introduce an abundance that does not exist when each element is restricted to its category, typology, land use or singular function," Harvey added finally. 

Additional information about the Biennale can be found here.