Lee – 1

Lizzy Lee

Carola Hein

CITY 377

December 19, 2012

Songdo International Business District: The Reality of Sustainable Cities

Introduction and Framework

As more research is conducted on climate change, sustainability has emerged as the

leading theme of this generation. On a micro-level, individual action such as recycling or

carpooling can help reduce carbon emissions to a minimal but notable extent. However, it is

difficult to implement more extensive sustainability measures because the built environment is

built around a non-sustainable lifestyle. Especially with the increase of urban sprawl, individuals

depend on cars for transportation, and cities are not built around the concept of walkability. It is

often difficult for long-established cities to implement sustainability in their planning, because

doing so requires a significant amount of money to completely restructure public transportation

and roads. Recently however, new “eco-cities” are being built from scratch around the driving

force of sustainability. These new cities are undeniably more sustainable than older existing

cities, but their sustainability implies more than just an interest in preserving the environment.

Sustainability is an intentional statement that governments can use to create a modern image for

their city, with the intention of achieving global architectural acclaim and international

recognition for business.

By exploring the urban design and architecture of an eco-city currently being built, we

can gain insight on how the priority of sustainability affects the form and function of a city.
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Although a priority of sustainability seems altruistically ideal, other aspects of urban life can

become lesser priorities, in turn changing the function, culture, and meaning of a city. Cities are

entities in themselves, but they are also part of a unique nation and culture that may not be

centered around sustainability (yet). The identity of eco-cities built from scratch is primarily

determined by the government’s desired image for the region as well as the (often foreign)

architects’ vision. Especially when sustainability is connected a modernity and globalization, can

a planned sustainable city remain culturally authentic? By analyzing the urban design, intentions,

and architecture of Songdo International Business District, an eco-city being built in South

Korea, we can understand how prioritizing sustainability determines a city’s identity and affects

cultural authenticity.

This exploration of Songdo centers around the framework of sustainability’s connection

to globalization, modernity, and image. This paper is structured to explore Songdo as whole built

environment, specific architecture in the city, and Songdo in a global context. The first section of

this paper will examine Songdo’s urban design as a whole, acknowledging that a planned

sustainable city is a unique and unprecedented built environment. Through analysis of the space

and Songdo’s marketing, this section will expose the implications that come with Songdo’s

sustainable design. The next section will analyze specific architecture in Songdo to explore the

relationship between Songdo’s Korean identity and its desired international image. Finally, the

paper will reflect on the effect of sustainability and globalization on new planned cities.

Why Sustainability is Important: Oil, Urbanization, and Future of Cities

Cities are too dependent on oil. In many countries, the built environment dictates

automobile usage as the main and most convenient mode of transportation, necessitating oil for
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gasoline. Established highway systems and spread of low-density suburbs around large cities

also reinforce automobile dependency. As the number of automobiles in the world doubles to 2

billion by 2020, transportation accounts for 97% of global demand for oil (“How Are Cities

Tackling Climate Change?”). The use of oil for transportation will likely be inevitable until

electric cars, public transportation, and carbon-neutral transit options become extensively

commonplace. In addition to transportation, cities depend on oil for services like electricity,

heating, and cooling. The growing number of buildings in cities increases dependence on oil for

fuel, and in turn, environmental damage. In fact, The American Institute of Architects estimate

that buildings account for 48% of all green house emissions ("Buildings Account for Half of All

CO2 Emissions"). Currently, 65% of energy is generated by fossil fuels (“How Are Cities

Tackling Climate Change?”). Increasing global oil dependence guarantees that carbon emissions

that will continue to destroy the environment if transformative measures are not taken.

Cities will play a crucial role in the future of our environment. “Today’s cities use 75%

of the world’s energy and are responsible for 80% of energy-related carbon impact” ("Energy—

Entrepreneurship and Demand Management” 1). The past generation of urban planning built

cities around the implicit assumption of the availability of cheap oil (Newman 171), but the

environment cannot afford for this to continue. Especially in light of the rapid urbanization

expected to occur, the next generation of cities must be designed be environmentally sustainable.

By 2030, developing countries are expected to triple their urban population, contributing to 90%

of urban growth (Alusi 2) and an 89% increase in energy consumption ("Energy—

Entrepreneurship and Demand Management” 4).

Governments, international organizations, and corporations have begun initiatives for

planning new sustainable and eco-friendly cities. After conducting a 31-city study on cities and
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automobile dependence, environmental scientist Peter Newman found three features that defined

a less oil dependent city – efficiently dense land-use, strong central and subcentral city

development for maximum walkability, and high priority non-automobile modes of

transportation (Newman 172). In addition to these features, American and European Union

initiatives for future eco-cities emphasize LEED-certified green buildings, effective water and

waste management systems, and the integration of information and communication technology

into infrastructure (Alusi 3). Songdo International Business District is a landmark eco-city

project that combines all of these features.

Songdo – South Korea’s Hope for Sustainable Urbanization?

Songdo’s advanced sustainable infrastructure and urban design set it apart from the rest

of the country. South Korea has a disproportionally high carbon emissions rate, as well as high

automobile ownership. Because of South Korea’s post-war rapid industrialization, its cities are

often based near manufacturing and industrial plants. While such industries still serve an

important role in South Korea’s economy, the country is also moving toward information-based

industries. South Korean cities were designed hastily during industrialization to accommodate as

people as possible, with emphasis on uniform apartment tower developments. Industrialization

was successful, and Seoul became South Korea’s gateway to the rest of the world. Millions of

people moved to Seoul and its surrounding districts, and now Seoul is one of the largest

metropolitan cities in the world. While this benefits the economy, Seoul’s capacity for growth is

reaching its limit (Kwon 148). The lack of space to develop and the enormous population

reinforce the concentrated energy consumption and automobile dependence.

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Songdo is technically in the metropolitan city of Incheon, South Korea’s third most

populous city. However, Incheon is also considered part of the “Seoul Capital Region,” as the

space has absorbed much of Seoul’s urban sprawl. Incheon’s proximity to Seoul (60 km) has

been both a catalyst and barrier to its own development as an autonomous city – Incheon benefits

from its association to Seoul but struggles to develop a strong identity beyond being considered

merely an extension of Seoul’s capital region. Incheon is South Korea’s 2nd largest port city, also

serving as a historically integral industrial and manufacturing center. In addition to its coastal

location and industrial base, Incheon’s existing infrastructure and connection to Seoul make it

attractive to developers (C. Durcruet et al. 151) especially as the urgency of Seoul’s expansion

intensifies. The search for available land for new developments in Incheon became “linked with

the local ambitions to develop new, post-industrial activities” (C. Ducruet et al. 154). The city of

Incheon and other non-Seoul areas of the capital region provide the best opportunities for new

“cities” that can relieve Seoul’s population density strain while also serving a post-industrial role

for South Korea’s economy.

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Songdo’s proximity to Seoul (about 1 hour away) is critical to its expected success, but

the difference between the two should also benefit Songdo. Songdo does not suffer from the

overcrowding and congestion that plagues Seoul, and has thus marketed itself as a “beautiful,

environmentally friendly, and effective” (Kim 16). Its sustainability provides a sharp contrast to

the heavily-consuming Seoul. Since Songdo is planned on virgin land, the city will include state-

of-the-art cultural venues, recreational amenities, and green space that Seoul lacks. Additionally,

Incheon is promoting initiatives to encourage the use of English in the area (Van Winden et al.

126) to facilitate a more foreigner-friendly business environment. Songdo’s urban design is

starkly different from any other region in South Korea, and it is composed of modern

architecture that Seoul lacks (C. Durcruet et al. 166). While this should make Songdo even more

desirable, it also exacerbates the sectional divisions of Incheon – manufacturing industrial

centers and “old” Incheon is separated from the heavily financed “new Incheon.” The City of
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Incheon plans to use the money earned from this area to revitalize existing areas of Incheon

(154).

Songdo’s History and Context

Songdo International Business District is sustainably designed urban development project

aiming to become northeast Asia’s central business hub, the base for South Korea’s knowledge

industry, as well as a luxurious walkable city. It is the largest private real estate development in

world, and among the most expensive (Whitman 419). Songdo is being built from scratch on

1500 acres of reclaimed land off the coast of the Yellow Sea. When the city’s construction is

complete in 2017, it will host approximately 65,000 residents, 300,000 daily commuters, and

Greater Songdo will house 250,000 (Frommer 1). Currently about 22,000 currently reside in

Songdo (1).

Songdo is half the size of Manhattan and part of Incheon Metropolitan City, the third

largest metropolitan city in South Korea. Songdo also hails itself as an aerotropolis - 7 miles

away from Incheon International Airport and thus a gateway to Northeast Asia. With

sustainability built into its environment and almost all LEED-certified buildings, Songdo is and

will be one of the world’s greenest cities. It recently won the bid to host the United Nations

Climate Fund Office, beating out several European cities.

Songdo has been a vessel for South Korea’s shifting global initiatives and the city of

Incheon’s development strategy. In the 1980’s the Incheon planned for Songdo to be a massive

housing development, but in the 1990’s Songdo became a joint project between the city of

Incheon and the South Korean government representative of something much larger (Van

Winden 128). In the mid 1990’s South Korea began to implement more open neoliberal
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economic policies, which was complemented by Incheon’s a “triport” development strategy and

slogan – airport, seaport, and teleport (128). After the completed construction of Incheon

International Airport in 2001 the urgency and possibility of creating financial hub that could

compete with China increased significantly. Gale International, an American real estate

development company took on the Songdo project, hiring Kohn Pederson Fox Associates (KPF),

an internationally acclaimed architecture and planning firm to draft Songdo’s design. POSCO

E&C, a subsidiary of the Korean steel conglomerate POSCO, agreed to help finance the plan and

serve as contractor.

However, Songdo’s purpose was decided by the City of Incheon, the planning, design,

and marketing laid primarily in the hands of these American firms. The city of Incheon

emphasized that the foreign developers should maintain the majority of interest in the venture “to

ensure high construction standards, international appeal, trust, attract foreign investors and

financial muscle” (Van Winden 129). Concurrently, the national government authorized the

Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), the first place in South Korea that foreigners could own

land. IFEZ is composed of 3 new noncontiguous sub-area “cities” – Songdo, Yeongjong, and

Cheongna -- that would manifest the government’s ‘Northeast Asia Business Hub Plan.’

Songdo’s construction began in 2003, as well as a bridge connecting Songdo to Incheon

International Airport (on the island of Yeongjong). Soon after, Morgan Stanley and Cisco

Systems joined the venture. Since 2005, individuals and companies have slowly begun moving

into the area. As Songdo’s construction continued, the American Institute of Architects awarded

Songdo’s master plan with a world award, and the Urban Land Institute awarded Songdo with a

Sustainable Cities award (Van Winden et al. 129). Songdo’s sustainability became more of a

focus with the election of President Myung-Bak, who promoted “green and low-carbon growth
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as an avenue for future development after 60 years of reliance on export-oriented manufacturing”

(“South Korea Provides Boost to Green Projects”). Songdo is also part of the US Green Building

Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development pilot programme.

Part 1: Songdo as a City – The Whole Built Environment

Songdo’s Sustainable Design

Songdo’s sustainability comes naturally from the new-urbanist principles it was designed

upon. The New Urbanism design movement promotes walkable cities, environmental

sustainability, mixed-use neighborhood development, and efficient and effective transportation

infrastructure. It designs to reduce the suburban sprawl that forces communities to depend on

cars, focusing on building a livable city that encourages individual health and smart growth.

Songdo’s smaller size and efficiently designed city grid allows for ultimate walkability – any

destination can be reached in a 15 minutes or a short (free) bike ride (Frommer). Unlike Korean

cities with dense pockets of identical mono-use residential towers, Songdo utilizes a “graduated
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density strategy to create a central hub surrounded by neighborhoods with a mix of uses”

(Whitman 35). Songdo is composed of 4 basic types of spaces – residential, commercial, office

space, and public green space.

Songdo’s graduated density

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With 40% of the city devoted to green space and the majority of parking underground,

Songdo’s space is maximized for pedestrian use. Central Park splits the city into two major parts

with virtually equal amounts of space devoted to each of the 4 categories. Central Park also

serves as the landmark of the city’s sustainability, physically articulating how green growth and

the environment distinguishes Songdo from other Korean cities, which do not have expansive
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green spaces. Central Park serves as an outside “community center,” hosting flea markets (Kim

1) and art exhibits in its constructed exhibition spaces. Smaller pocket parks intersperse through

the commercial, business, and residential sections, creating a luxurious lifestyle connected to and

surrounded by beautifully landscaped nature. The organized city grid allows for all blocks to

“connect pedestrians to open space, walking/biking corridors and public gathering areas”

(Songdo.com). The theme of water is highlighted in the canal of Central Park and further

integrated through an advanced canal system running through the northeast and southwest

section of the city. These canals emphasize Songdo’s mixed-use design principles – they are

lined with green walking and recreational space as well as waterfront shopping districts. Finally,

in the southernmost section of Songdo lies the first Jack Nicklaus Golf Club of Korea –

prestigious green space for the privileged. Future plans include mega-cultural centers, world-

renown hospitals, and a university district with American and Seoul-based universities already

signed on to build satellite campuses (C. Ducruet et al. 157).

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In addition to walkability, Songdo’s design tackles automobile dependence by providing

a varied, efficient, and clean, transportation infrastructure to maximize accessibility. The Incheon

Metropolitan City subway runs through the center of Songdo, with “bus stops located within

one-quarter mile of all residential and commercial buildings” (Songdo.com). Bus services covers

all sections of the city, with conveniently placed bus stops that are no more than a quarter of a

mile from all residential and commercial areas. These buses will run on hydrogen fuel cells, an

advanced technology that that allows for zero carbon emissions. Songdo’s streets have defined

sidewalks and 25 km of segregated bike lanes serviced by free bike rental stations that are

dispersed through the city. To accommodate this anticipated bicycle, expansive bike racks are

part of building and plaza design. Central Park and the connected canals will also host a water

taxi system. Songdo will be connected to Seoul through the subway and certain Seoul bus lines,

and plans for a future high-speed line are being discussed. Songdo also has an advanced
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information technology infrastructure that wires the whole city, collecting data to optimize

efficiency.

Songdo’s transportation options

Sustainability is About More Than Preserving the Environment: Songdo’s Planned Culture and

Identity
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Songdo’s planned nature comes with inherent challenges. Since it is a new city, Songdo

must have unique features that distinguish it from well-established cities and allow it to build a

unique competitive global image. Until the global financial crisis in 2007, Songdo branded itself

solely as an international hub city. “In a planning document (Gale International and KPF, 2008,

pp. 8-9), developers and architects chart the evolution of the plan from a hub city to a green city

without sufficient explaining what promoted such a change. However, the marketing of Songdo

as a green city demonstrates how the real estate sector and government actors modify

representations to adapt to the changing economic, political, and social conditions” (Kim 17).

How can Songdo have an authentic identity (not to mention a culturally Korean one) if these

actors can easily change Songdo’s purpose to ft the needs and circumstances of the time? Great

cities of the world have hundreds of years of history and tradition that define their reputation and

importance today. Songdo has neither. But what Songdo lacks in tradition it is trying to make up

through creating an identity centered around sustainable modernity, innovation, and luxury that

is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Furthermore, its planned nature provides an

opportunity to create a unique landscape and type of sustainable urban environment new to the

world. Songdo’s focus on sustainability serves two main purposes that go hand in hand – to build

the brand of an international city and attract the “right” people.

To accomplish its goal of becoming the new Northeast Asian Business Hub, Songdo is

building its image as an international city through promoting its sustainability. South Korea is a

successfully industrialized country, but it lacks the global image and flows that other Asian

business capitals like Hong Kong and Singapore have attained. Songdo is South Korea’s answer

to this competition – its ability to afford and effectively implement urban sustainability proves its

modernity and equal capability as a city. Songdo’s eco-friendly infrastructure, energy-efficient

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architecture, and state-of-the-art green technology is objectively advanced for any country. As

result, Songdo receives international recognition for this innovation, helping build a reputation as

an impressive and advanced city worthy of international business. If Songdo can remain the

leader in sustainability, then it can also be a competitive and desired place to do business, as

being a leader globally in anything increases prestige and desirability. Most recently, Songdo

won the bid to host the United Nations Climate Fund Office.

Songdo’s planned walkable urban design creates a luxurious urban area that looks

significantly different than other Korean cities. Songdo has the four key elements of urban

design that create value – architecture, green spaces, water settings, and transportation (Jerke

70). The value created by Songdo’s sustainable design provides a high quality of life missing

from other Korean cities that lack this full set. Stan Gale, the head of Gale International, the

(American) real estate development firm behind Songdo comments on this distinction, "With

time, and as people have some experiences in Songdo, they're going to appreciate and understand

that for Korea, it's very new way of living. For Western standards, it's not that new, but for

Koreans, it's new. Anything new takes time” (Frommer 1). This new “Western” standard and

culture of living is meant to attract a specific demographic to Songdo – expatriates and young

rich Korean people working in the knowledge industries that Songdo plans to host (Van Winden

et al. 130). Sustainability imposes deeper meaning onto the built environment – the city’s

beautiful, walkable, luxurious space is exclusive and expensive. However, Songdo’s exclusivity

exacerbates existing class issues in Korea and widens the disparity between heavily funded

developing IFEZ areas and older manufacturing areas and industrial districts of Incheon (C.

Ducruet et al 154). This growing social and economic divide may make Songdo a new enclave in

terms of modern architecture, lavish amenities, English speaking ability, and the level and types
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of schools and services within the city (C. Ducruet et al 166). Despite these issues, Songdo’s

expected population of the domestic and foreign upper class will help Songdo create an elite

international status and reputation of sophistication.

While Songdo is successfully building a global image by branding itself with the

beneficial implications of sustainability, image is not necessarily identity or an accurate

representation of culture. Nothing about Songdo is particularly Korean, but the city was not

designed to be Korean – it was built to be international and sustainable. Ultimately, the people

living and working in Songdo will define its identity and create the city’s culture, but its planned

nature causes it to lack the social fabric of established cities and to some extent, the cultural

identity of South Korea. Will “beautiful” modernity be valued over being and looking Korean?

Perhaps after construction finishes and as the Songdo develops more organically, its people will

adapt to hybridize the two. In any case, the future cultural development of Songdo will provide

insight on how exactly the built environment shapes Korean culture.

Part 2 – Songdo’s Architecture: Power, Space, and Identity in an Era of Globalization

Purpose and Significance of Songdo’s Built Form

Songdo’s architecture helps create the city’s identity. With 13.7 million feet and 80%

building LEED-certified, Songdo is one of the world’s largest LEED-certified urban

environment to date. LEED-certification can be a challenging concept to incorporate into

architecture without restricting a greater vision for the form. However, sustainability is not the

main focus or purpose of the buildings. Just as the city uses sustainability as part of its

international branding, LEED-certification also serves to increase the engineering and design
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prestige of this city. Beyond the “green” aspect of their architecture, Songdo’s buildings generate

a specific message and serve a unique role for the future of the city.

Some of the energy-efficient features of Songdo’s buildings

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Songdo’s
comparative
energy
savings

Since Songdo is still under construction, it does not have the full population of people

who will define the character of the city. Its budding urban landscape however, is shaping its

visual identity with a planned graduated skyline whose apex will distinguish Songdo from other

skylines. The architecture is especially significant because Songdo has no geographic or cultural

context from off of which to build a history. Since the city stands on manmade reclaimed land,

the built forms shape the beginning of the city’s potential cultural narrative and place in the

world. As the world’s first sustainable city designed to be an international business district,

Songdo’s urban space is unprecedented, especially in comparison to other eco-cities that have
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failed to evolve beyond a master plan. This, in addition to its reclaimed location, creates a unique

context for the significance of Songdo’s architecture.

Songdo’s architecture enables the city to fulfill its original purpose – to successfully

become an international business hub for northeast Asia. Globally, the most prestigious

international cities (New York, London, Tokyo) have flourished in the most modern countries, or

have been intentionally constructed to challenge and match this existing status quo of modernity

and economic triumph (Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai). Renowned cities in the most

economically dominant countries need not to prove their importance to the world, as their history

and form already esteemed. While South Korea is a modern newly industrialized country, it is

still trying to prove its value. An effective way of doing this is by creating Songdo’s built

environment to reflect the global, modern image that the South Korea desires. Such an image

would obviously include a cityscape filled with bright skyscrapers, but it can also include types

of infrastructure and development that older cities were not originally built with - energy-

efficient buildings, and a walkable urban landscape. Without a strong cultural or geographic

context, Songdo’s built environment must be especially impressive so the city can be desirable to

investors and large corporations. Furthermore, a country like South Korea that has few natural

resources (no oil money) and a history of colonization, building sustainable cities with notable

modern architecture is a way to assert power and gain attention in the world.

Exploration of Songdo’s Architects and Architecture

To foster and create Songdo’s global image, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates (KPF) was

selected to design the city’s master plan. KPF designed the majority of buildings, with HOK

(formerly Hellmuth Obata Kassabaum) designing a notable amount of buildings as well. Several
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Korean architecture firms designed a few of the buildings as well. Both KPF and HOK are

internationally acclaimed firms with global offices. KPF is one of the world’s “leading

commercial design practices” (McNeill 20) with 80 LEED accredited professionals and a

portfolio featuring 70 projects “certified or pursuing green building certification” (KPF.com).

KPF is a “tried and trusted” firm that is recognized a global brand, targeting major markets by

applying global resources their networks (McNeil 27). The international reputation and quality of

these firms are imparted onto Songdo through their buildings. Songdo’s international-class image

is also amplified by Starchitect Daniel Libeskind’s design for a soon-to-built shopping complex.

Northeast Asia Trade Tower (NEATT)

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The Northeast Asia Trade Tower was completed in 2011. KPF designed this 68 story

building for office, residential, and hotel use. This mixed-use ability is enabled by its tapered

structure, with every floor having a different pane shape (Chung 6) to fit the function of the

space. The large trapezoidal base accommodates office space, while the higher slender floors

maximize light penetration and views for residential spaces (Wood 96). “The transition in plan

from trapezoidal to triangular form translates into an elegant exterior with reflective faces that

resemble elongated triangles, the edges of which converge and diverge in an alternating pattern”

(96). NEATT’s 2nd to 33rd floors will serve as 24-hour business spaces for domestic and foreign

companies, 35th through 64th floor will serve as the highest-class hotel (Chung 1) and apartments,
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and the top floors will serve as an observation deck. The tower provides scenic views of Central

Park, Incheon, and Seoul. In fact, the tower leans toward Central Park by bowing out 5 meters.

The 2010 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Awards Program

recognized NEATT as a finalist (Wood 96). It is the tallest tower in South Korea, the 28th tallest

in Asia, and the 57th tallest in the world. The sustainable design aspects are also noteworthy. The

tower’s high quality glazing and expansive shading devices minimize solar heat absorbance,

reducing air-conditioning costs and energy-related emissions (Wood 96). NEATT is currently

pursuing LEED certification with an estimated 6,000 tons per year reduction in source-energy

CO2 compared to other towers. Water conservation is prioritized in design with low-low

plumbing, a grey water collection system, and storm water irrigation (96).

Along with its self-proclaimed name, NEATT represents the purpose of Songdo through

the message of architectural form. CTBUH lauds NEATT as an icon of Songdo because of its

sleek design and sustainable features. As an International Business District, Songdo needs a

distinct skyline, as skyscrapers are simply standard buildings for business offices. Until other

cultural amenity facilities are constructed, NEATT will indeed serve as the icon of Songdo. By

constructing (and naming) NEATT, the South Korean government is actively engaging in

“making their space to achieve, capture and shape the material flows” (Herod 2001). The tapered

structure creates optimal spaces to cultivate business on the bottom floors, with the upper level

hotel floors contributing to these business networks by literally capturing the flow of people. For

a context-less place like Songdo, the presence of skyscrapers is especially important. Since

Songdo has an identity to prove without a history behind it, the city can especially use

skyscrapers to tell the narrative associated with modern skylines in global cities. The skyscraper

is (an originally American) visualization of financial power (McNeill 116). “The development of
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high-rise Central Business Districts has become a seemingly indispensible tool for cities striving

to attract attention and to place themselves on the global map of international capital flows”

(Grubbauer 64). The sustainable design elements add more prestige to NEATT.

Residential Buildings: Central Park I, II and First World Apartments

Along with its advanced focus on sustainability, Songdo continues to distinguish itself as

a world-class city through acclaimed modern architecture designed by prestigious firms. While

both of these apartment complexes are anticipating LEED certification, the focus on

sustainability serves more as a component of luxury than environmental function. The residential

complexes built so in Songdo far utilize New Urbanism principles of mix-use developments and

green space for maximum livability. Compared to Seoul, Songdo’s apartment buildings are more

modern and sleek. Historically in Seoul, rapid post-war urbanization destroyed the majority of

traditional one-story hanok houses in favor of uniform apartment clusters that could

accommodate a large number of people (Hong 25). As a result, Seoul lacks green space and

poorly planned dense residential complexes that block mountain views and contribute to traffic

(Kwon 160). Culturally however, in Seoul high-rise apartments represent social status and

symbolize luxury living (Hou 234). In Songdo, the same association is magnified because the

apartments’ have genuine design by renowned architectural firms.

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High rise apartments in Jangandong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul

The residential complexes reclaim the individuality that current Korean apartment

complexes sacrificed for the sake of rapid industrialization. Their design undoubtedly sets them

apart from the normal Korean apartment uniformity, but both Central Park I, II and First World

Apartments incorporate unique design elements that are not common in most high-rise towers in

the world.
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Central Park I Apartments Central Park II Apartments

Central Park I and II were primarily designed by HOF and built in 2010 and 2011 along

the perimeter on Central Park. Central Park I displays a magnificent glass façade composed of

interwoven strips of glass panes, creating a curved texture that reflects sunlight in a mosaic

manner. The wavy blue sheen of glass is reminiscent of water, perhaps to complement the park’s

canal a few feet away. Central Park II incorporates the wave theme on a large singular scale. The

futuristic upward wave defies visual expectations of a typical high-rise tower, but the curve

evokes organic plant imagery as well. HOK designed the towers to set an “international standard

of living and Korean standard for sustainable design” (“High-Tech Living in the ‘World’s

Smartest City’”).
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First World Towers

Songdo First World Towers were primarily designed by KPF and built in 2009 (the first

residential structures in Songdo). The main design concepts were a “pedestrian-scaled street

grid” and open space (“Songdo First World Towers”) that were complemented by the multi-use

functions of the complex itself, which is composed of office space, a day care, health center, and

seniors’ center in addition to apartments. To contrast the typical Korean “superblock” high rise-

tower cluster typology, KPF designed the buildings by intentionally varying height in a

“rhythmic, nonlinear progression” (“Songdo First World Towers”). Though KPF also claims that

traditional Korean palaces and gardens influenced the towers’ design components of “repeated

shifts in orientation and placed axes,” such supposed cultural inspiration seems more theoretical

than relatable or actually visible. Both First World Towers and Central Park Towers embody

sustainable luxury only available so far in Songdo versus in the rest of the country. “The

invocations of the term “First World Towers” sets Songdo IBD up not only to have its own
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referential architecture, but to locate this architecture within the logics of globalization, ‘first

world’ notions of tiered development and as well to situate itself in a long line of cities with

famous sets of ‘towers’” (Merrill 24).

Songdo’s Sustainability in a Global Context

While Songdo seeks to be the greenest, most environmentally sustainable city in the

world, is this bold ambition enough? Though Songdo claims to be sustainable, its location

questions the validity of such a claim. First, the city was built on reclaimed land from the Yellow

Sea by destroying indigenous wetlands and bird habitats. Certainly, Songdo can rightfully boast

about its green architecture and advanced infrastructure, but to build this “sustainable” manmade

environment, developers destroyed the actual environment. Secondly, Songdo is by no means a

city without automobile dependence. The mixed-use, compact, walkable design aspects enable a

lifestyle that does not require a vehicle, but automobile and fuel in general still define the city.

Each of the buildings have massive understand parking lots that provide expansive surface land

for green space to mask the cars that will be utilized to commute. In terms of fuel, Songdo’s most

marketable business feature is its proximity to “1/3 of the world’s population,” which is only

possible because of the city’s connection to Incheon International Airport (a 15 minute drive, bus

ride, or train ride away). Cultivating a business district to promote international flows of money,

people, and prestige requires frequent transcontinental travel fueled by oil! The airport is integral

to physically connect Songdo with other Asian business capitals, so it does indeed contribute to

the city’s global competitive potential. It is also necessary to point out that while in principle this

maintains a subtle oil dependence, flying is actually only 2 percent of all the carbon emissions in

the world (Kasarda and Lindsay 335).

 Lee – 29

Songdo’s constructed international identity threatens its social sustainability. So far,

Songdo’s incomplete different Western look creates a landscape devoid of Korean city culture of

bustling, crowded streetscapes (Hou 237). The city’s modern environment has Western urban

qualities to cater to expatriates, but is this what expatriates want? In contrast, Hong Kong and

Singapore, the preferred postings of Western expatriates (354) are successful global cities that

still maintain more cultural and national identity than Songdo. Songdo is beautiful and green, but

it is more a plot of America literally constructed and designed by Americans than it is part of

South Korea’s national context. If it were to become a pocket of expatriates, Songdo could

actually create more ethnic tensions and class divisions in South Korea, an extremely

homogenous nationalistic country. Itaewon, Seoul’s “foreigner district,” has a complicated

history and enduring reputation that could also transfer to Songdo. Unlike Seoul, whose

urbanization hybridized modernity with Korean culture (Hong 23, 26), Songdo has no cultural

context or traditional Korean heritage sites to preserve and display. Only time will tell how

Songdo’s Korean and international population will hybridize cultures.

As Songdo serves a sustainable city model for 20 other Asian cities, its future can serve

as a case study exploring the complicated global implications of newly planned Asian cities.
 Lee – 30

Sustainability now seems to be an integrated and expect component of urban planning, but only

the future will show if such design can effectively hybridize or maintain local culture. With

technology facilitating globalization, it will be interesting to see how “global” or local these

cities will be in culture, architecture, and purpose. New Asian cities will be appearing in a world

based on Western-oriented hegemony and economic hierarchy. But perhaps the future of

globalization will incorporate non-Western practices and values, especially in the built

environments of these new cities. As East Asian cities are in transition period struggling to find

identity (Perera and Tang, 6), it will be interesting to see how they negotiate global power

against certain established Western economies built on oil and capitalism in this age of depleting

natural resources.
 Lee – 31

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 Lee – 35

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