This is Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul, South Korea. It runs along Sejong-ro, which was a very large street prior to this plaza's creation in July 2009. It has several important features. First, there is a subway station and public viewing gallery underneath it which can be reached from those steps in the middle. It is very wide without any trees, which allows for incredible line of sight. It is named for Gwanghwamun, the huge gate to the Gyeongbok Palace, which is currently being renovated. Beyond Gyeongbok Palace is the Blue House, which can be seen at top of the image. The Blue House is like our White House.
On this map we see the major attractions of downtown Seoul. There are two major historic palaces, beautiful and deserving to be seen from far away. The blue line is Cheonggyecheon stream, an important pedestrian corridor. There is also City Hall, with that green circle of grass in front of it where everyone protests. Sejong-ro is the wide north-south road that connects all of this. It is on this road that Gwanghwamun Plaza was created.
This statue of Yi Sung-Shin, can be seen from almost anywhere, and he looks very impressive at all times.
This is Cheonggyecheon, which is a sunken daylighted stream and pedestrian greenway that runs across the city. It doesn't connect to Gwanghwamun Plaza directly, but it should. I'm confident future planners will figure that out. A tunnel would suffice.
On the other side of the world, there is the St. Louis Gateway Mall. It connects the arch grounds to... what? It runs past City Hall and Union Station and fades into a highway exit ramp. Eventually it could reach Jefferson Ave and perhaps Harris-Stowe University, maybe Forest Park one day..
Gwanghwamun Plaza is a flat plane and the line of sight from any position on it is incredible. The flanking buildings along the side are high, LED studded, and shiny. Conversely, the Gateway Mall has two offending structures boxing in the viewer. In the two above images we see the Civil Court Building and Gateway One obstructing the view. In my old Plaza Square apartment, I could see only part of the arch looking down Chestnut.
Let's look at pedestrian access.
Some city planner decided to put one annual in Ganghwamun for every day of the Joseon Dynasty... (since 1392...)
These flowers serve several purposes.
1. They're pretty.
2. They will need to be replaced every season, which will give the landscapers a lot of public money. They need to be watered daily as well.
3. They obstruct foot traffic.
As of the winter of 2009, the flowers have been removed and a temporary ice rink has been installed... wow.
How about the Gateway Mall?
On the left is Kiener Plaza as it is today. On the right is a new plan proposed by HOK. This side-by-side comes from the brilliant mind at Vanishing STL. As is pointed out there, the new design does not impove pedestrian traffic but actually impedes it. The only benefit a pedestrian would gain from this would be the addition of the 'Hallway' along Market. The Hallway is part of the masterplan and is supposed to extend along the entire mall.
Now, there's no subway between the Old Court House and the Arch, but there is a small underused park called Luther Ely Smith Square (as in LESS useful than a staircase). Ask yourself when you last saw someone enjoying that space. It looks like this,
Converting this park into a new entrance to the already sunken Museum of Westward Expansion would be a great boon to everyone. It would also be a little in line with what the park service has proposed for the new 2015 plan,
Now what does this picture remind us of?
The major bookends for Sejong-ro are Gyeongbok Palace and City Hall to the South. Though not directly connected to the plaza, they are more easily accessed now that the Plaza is there. They each have their own subway stations as well on different lines.
On this map we see the major attractions of downtown Seoul. There are two major historic palaces, beautiful and deserving to be seen from far away. The blue line is Cheonggyecheon stream, an important pedestrian corridor. There is also City Hall, with that green circle of grass in front of it where everyone protests. Sejong-ro is the wide north-south road that connects all of this. It is on this road that Gwanghwamun Plaza was created.
This statue of Yi Sung-Shin, can be seen from almost anywhere, and he looks very impressive at all times.
This is Cheonggyecheon, which is a sunken daylighted stream and pedestrian greenway that runs across the city. It doesn't connect to Gwanghwamun Plaza directly, but it should. I'm confident future planners will figure that out. A tunnel would suffice.
On the other side of the world, there is the St. Louis Gateway Mall. It connects the arch grounds to... what? It runs past City Hall and Union Station and fades into a highway exit ramp. Eventually it could reach Jefferson Ave and perhaps Harris-Stowe University, maybe Forest Park one day..
Let's look at the comparative line of sight.
Gwanghwamun Plaza is a flat plane and the line of sight from any position on it is incredible. The flanking buildings along the side are high, LED studded, and shiny. Conversely, the Gateway Mall has two offending structures boxing in the viewer. In the two above images we see the Civil Court Building and Gateway One obstructing the view. In my old Plaza Square apartment, I could see only part of the arch looking down Chestnut.
I'm sure the workers in these two buildings have great views, but we ants on the ground do not.
Let's look at pedestrian access.
Some city planner decided to put one annual in Ganghwamun for every day of the Joseon Dynasty... (since 1392...)
These flowers serve several purposes.
1. They're pretty.
2. They will need to be replaced every season, which will give the landscapers a lot of public money. They need to be watered daily as well.
3. They obstruct foot traffic.
As of the winter of 2009, the flowers have been removed and a temporary ice rink has been installed... wow.
How about the Gateway Mall?
On the left is Kiener Plaza as it is today. On the right is a new plan proposed by HOK. This side-by-side comes from the brilliant mind at Vanishing STL. As is pointed out there, the new design does not impove pedestrian traffic but actually impedes it. The only benefit a pedestrian would gain from this would be the addition of the 'Hallway' along Market. The Hallway is part of the masterplan and is supposed to extend along the entire mall.
How about the connection to its anchor on the end?
Before the renovation, Gwanghwamun (the gate itself) looked like this. It was impossible to reach on foot. When I first tired to get there in 2006, it took me about two hours to figure out how to cross the road. Now that the plaza has been built, there are several crosswalks and traffic is nicer. There still isn't an easy connection though.
For the winter of 2009, there's a very real physical connection in the form of a snowboard ramp.
Hopefully this ramp is temporary and the national treasure can be restored to its former glory and cease to be a support building for stunts.
The anchor at the end of the gateway mall, the arch, is also cut off by a major road.
Highway 70 still cuts the mall off from the arch grounds.
Gwanghwamun has a very large inclined ramp that leads directly into an exhibition gallery and a subway station. It also has a large outdoor TV, which Koreans use en masse when the World Cup is on.
Now, there's no subway between the Old Court House and the Arch, but there is a small underused park called Luther Ely Smith Square (as in LESS useful than a staircase). Ask yourself when you last saw someone enjoying that space. It looks like this,
Converting this park into a new entrance to the already sunken Museum of Westward Expansion would be a great boon to everyone. It would also be a little in line with what the park service has proposed for the new 2015 plan,
Now what does this picture remind us of?
Those night time fountains are a source of joy for children in Seoul just as the fountains in the city garden are a joy to children in St. Louis. They run in and out of them screaming and having a great time.
The running man is a great symbol of the city, as Yi Sung-Shin shows, if he was elevated ten feet in the air and visible for all, he'd be really impressive looking. Though, it'd help if he were like five times bigger.
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This post relates to the Gateway Mall and the Arch Grounds.
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