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Seoul Ferry Terminal
Unlike its evil conception in Western culture, the Dragon is a friendly mythological symbol with life-giving powers in the East. Our project celebrates this vital force of the Dragon in this international competition. As the city fabric meets the river at Yeoui-naru in Seoul, an interplay of tubular shapes, clad with shiny black metal panels splash in and out of water creating dynamic interior and exterior spaces. Lush landscaping, boardwalks, and sheltered outdoor plazas weave through the dragon shapes, offering entry points for the ferry commuters.
The ferry terminal is a hovering truss, one foot in the city, the other in water. It acts as a hollow tube connecting passengers to the pantoon at the lower level, and the cafe & observatory at the upper. The offices and services are simply behind the main space. Spatial experiences of the boardwalk, the observatory and the pontonn are unique encounters with the city and the dynamic architecture of the terminal. The terminal itself is an architecture of transition, where dynamic architectural signs direct, convey and situate the passengers. The Dragon's Den is designed to be a global landmark of the future, with powers of the past. It is an urban sculpture that can speak the language of a little boy and an emperor at the same time.
Project Poem: Black Milk
Red balloons flutter. Dragon roars with rage.
Wet, her breasts glow under the moonlight.
Black milk flows! Heavy, cold.
The boy drinks.
Silence.
Climb the lotus o'boy. Gooey petals. Honey.
A frog jumps. Petals jerk.
At the center, the boy drinks time.
Blue light glows in him.
He grows.
Black milk whitens, silky and smooth.
A loud crack!
White milk sprays, gushes through the rocks
Milk rains.
The boy drinks.
He grows.
Red balloons deflate, dragon, skin and bones.
Let us purr. Slow and heavy.
Warm, fresh milk. Silky and smooth.
The boy drinks.
He grows.
Design principal
Selim Vural, AIA
Project team
Federica Savioa
Phase
Competition
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