Towers, “Green District” Central to Seoul Valley Plan

In November 2020, Copenhagen-based architecture firm Henning Larsen released the design for Seoul Valley, a 360,600-m2 mixed-use development planned for the center of Seoul. With an aim to create a “vibrant green district” in the city center, Seoul Valley will combine office, retail, lodging and residential components within a public podium. The development will have three large towers subdivided “into smaller masses to reduce the sense of scale and create a village-like atmosphere between the spaces at ground level,” Henning Larsen said. The lowest level has gardens, terraces and courtyards defining spaces between shops, cafés and restaurants.

The long-empty, 28,600-m2 Seoul Valley is part of the city’s 2030 plan for urban development. “For well over a decade, Seoul has been actively working to revitalize its urban fabric, focusing on the spaces between buildings and the pedestrian links,” said Jacob Kurek, a partner at Henning Larsen. “Seoul Valley fits into that vision, promising to bring public life back to the center not just through shops and amenities, but [also] through a design that focuses on public comfort, greenery and local tradition.” Plans call for the project to enter the “Schematic Design” phase in spring 2021.