Seoul Transforms a Freeway Into A River and Public Park

A stream runs through the center of Seoul, dividing the city into North and South, but for three decades it was totally buried beneath a busy downtown highway. In 2003, as part of a vast urban renewal project, the highway was removed and the stream was recovered and turned into a beautiful 5.8 km urban park. Demolishing roads in favor of urban parks is is a development project we can really get behind.

The Cheonggyecheon stream was formed during the Joseon Dynasty in order to provide drainage for the city. It lasted for hundreds of years until the 1940s, when the city became so populated that a shanty town popped up around the stream and began polluting the area. The stream was gradually covered over with concrete, and by 1976 a 5.6 km elevated highway was built on top of it.

Considered an example of ‘successful industrialization and modernization’, the highway remained there until 2003, when city planners tore it down to revitalize the area and help Seoul remake itself as a modern environmentally friendly city. The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project took two years and cost around $281 million, but it has created a thriving stretch of green public space in the middle of the city.









What was once a dividing line between the north and south parts of the city has been recreated as an urban park that bridges the gap and brings people together. Over 75% of the material torn down from the old highway was reused to construct the park and rehabilitate the stream. Now fish, bird and insects have made their way back into the urban river, and the area surrounding the park is about 3.6 deg C cooler than other parts of the city.









In addition to the restoration project, Seoul has also implemented transportation planning, rerouting traffic through other corridors and adding more public transportation. As a result there has been a decrease in the number of vehicles entering the city and bus and subway use has increased. Even though the city took away one of the major thoroughfares, they were able to redirect and decrease traffic through efficient planning and expanded public transportation. Sounds like an amazing renewal project with many, many benefits.

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High Line "HL" Park, New York

An elevated park in the sky built on top of the skeleton of an old rail system? It may have sounded impossible only five years ago, but today, the eagerly awaited High Line elevated urban park officially opens for thousands of New Yorkers looking to escape the hubbub of the city below!Here at Inhabitat, we have been following the journey of the High Line for the past several years and were super excited to get a sneak peek yesterday of the new park, which was renovated / designed by James Corner Field Operations, Lead Designer, with starchitects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. We were thrilled to get a chance to scope out the High Line yesterday as we’ve been waiting for this for ages!), so check out our pics below!

The High Line was originally constructed in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off of city streets. Abandoned in the 1980’s the High Line went into decay and disrepair and was rediscovered in popular consciousness in 2000, after acclaimed photographer Joel Sternfeld captured the beauty of the industrial relic in photos: overgrown with wildflowers — an abandoned human structure essentially reclaimed by nature in a matter of 20 years.
The City of New York was originally planning to tear down the High Line, but a group formed, called ‘Friends of the High Line’, to protect, preserve, and renovate the High Line. This eventually lead to a design competition, and the commissioning of landscape architects James Corner Field Operations and architects Diller Scodifio + Renfro to rehabilitate this abandoned space into a lush, green, elevated paradise for Manhattanites.

Renovations spanned a time frame of several years (with another section yet to be complete until 2010), but visitors to the park yesterday all seemed to agree that it was well worth the wait.So what was our verdict? Well, while we view slick renderings of concepts for urban green spaces almost everyday, it is an entirely different thing to actually step into a completed project and see it with our own eyes. We weren’t sure if it was going to be possible for a starchitect-designed renovation to maintain the simple, stark beauty of the original, overgrown High Line – the one that had captured the imagination of so many Manhattanites in 2000. But we were impressed and pleasantly surprised!

The feeling at the High Line today was one of excitement, optimism and pride that our city was able to take something that was just a gleam in our eyes a few years ago and turn it into something that we, and hopefully generations to come, can enjoy. For New Yorkers like myself, who are just witnessing the beginnings of an urban space revolution, the High Line is a tangible manifestation of what the future could look like.

That being said, you’re probably wondering what it looked like. The most prominent features of the long and winding park are the preserved rail tracks that poke out through the porous layer of concrete that has been cut away in strips here and there emphasizing a linear aesthetic. Lush shrubbery, reedy grasses and watercolor-hued flowers surround the rust-red tracks in a way that seems deliberate yet natural. Farther down along the meandering pathway, sunbathers relaxed on blocky wooden chaise lounges, some of which have casters that look like they can roll right along the tracks (although they can’t, we tried). Vistas that were unseen to most New Yorkers, like a view of the clubs in the Meatpacking district from above and peeks into the posh lofts that are at the same level as the High Line were visible, for the very first time, from here.

Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

Yas Marina Circuit is a magnificent circuit current, past still dominates in Sepang as a circuit design the most luxurious. But with the presence of Yas Marina, we seemed to be amazed at the beauty of the track combined with the hotel. Here's a collection of images of Yas Marina Circuit image, either still or animated images of existing now.

Element of Water in Garden Design

Presence of element of water as one of element lansekap from our garden, be important thing to start situation of exterior at the same time can cool situation of our house interior. element of Water can complement our garden design although sometimes costs money which is not a few. Meagrely spares garden area, we can make it is considerably simple. Kinds of element of inter alia water ; water feature, clear pond ( fishpond), pool with water crop, swimming pool, waterfall and others.

Water feature

Urn-Water-FeaturesMacam-macam water feature like pool equiped with waterspout, canister, stone carves, pot, and statue is one of way of presenting element of water in our garden. Water feature earns we to put down in front of house and also in front of family room. We can make it with design which sedehana, but doesn't discharge element of esthetics in its(the appearance.

Fishpond and water crop

Your Waterplants-at-Pond Mungkin partly having hobbi to look after fish and water crop lover, basin is element of water is earning you are create. But sometimes if we is less treatmently and circulation of ugly water can become very dirty and smells. For fishpond we can make circulation of water with installation of pipe in pool base and gift two types gravel and filter fabric that our fishpond later unpolluted and smells. And water crop lover, water crop pool create as according to your desire. But need to be paid attention like fishpond, you can prevent dirt which will go up with filter layer fabric is added with gravel or stone pipih above its.

Swimming pool

Kolam-renangnah, for the things one is you very possibly must provide wide farm. But doesn't close possibility that we can make swimming pool as according to requirement of family. Things required to paid attention in making swimming pool is

* Be better if makes swimming pool for family at the most 1,4 metre its(the depth of water.

* you also can make Kids pool if having chlid and kedalam water at the most 0,5 metre.

* Labours makes swimming pool with height at the most level terrace;core floor.

* Good circulation create at pool, and better asked at its(the expert.

* Please read furthermore at article 8 Tips Membuat Kolam Renang

Aqua Shower and Waterfall

Waterspout by Waterfall earns berimprovisation with making of shower at pool and also waterfall. But unhappily its(the making costing money rather expensive because you must order from outside country. For information please click link The Great American Waterfall Company from United States

Last doesn't forget giving idea, suggestion, comment building about this postingan. Hopefully is of benefit to friends of all.

Landscape Architecture

Landscape architecture is a the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve socio-behavioural, environmental, and/or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the careful design of interventions that will interact with these conditions and processes to produce the desired outcome. The scope of the profession includes urban design,site planning, town or urban planning, environmental restoration, parks and recreation planning; green infrastructure planning and provision, all at varying scales of design, planning and management. A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture is called a landscape architect.

Through the 19th century, urban planning became more important, and it was the combination of modern planning with the tradition of landscape gardening that gave Landscape Architecture its unique focus. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks which continue to have a huge influence on the practices of Landscape Architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and Boston's so called Emerald Necklace park system.

Landscape architecture continues to develop as a design discipline, and has responded to many of the movements of design and architecture through the 20th century. Today, a healthy level of innovation continues to provide challenging design solutions for streetscapes,parks and gardens. The work of Martha Schwartz in the US,and in Europe designs such as Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam by the Dutch design group (West 8) are just two examples.

Ian McHarg is considered an important influence on the modern Landscape Architecture profession and land planning in particular. With his book "Design with Nature", he popularized a system of analyzing the layers of a site in order to compile a complete understanding of the qualitative attributes of a place. This system became the foundation of today's Geographic Information Systems (GIS). McHarg would give every qualitative aspect of the site a layer, such as the history, hydrology, topography, vegetation, etc. GIS software is ubiquitously used in the landscape architecture profession today to analyze materials in and on the Earth's surface and is similarly used by Urban Planners, Geographers, Forestry and Natural Resources professionals, etc.