MVRDV wins competition in South Korea

The concept design for a new city centre consists of a series of overgrown hill shaped buildings, aiming for high urban density and encouragement of further developments around this so-called ‘Power Centre', which will accommodate up to 77.000 occupants. Since the beginning of the millennium the ‘Power Centre strategy' – a mix of public, retail, culture, housing, offices and leisure generating life in new metropolitan areas – has often been used in Korean town planning. In order to facilitate the program's different needs for phasing, positioning and size, all elements are designed as rings. Pushing these rings outwards creates terraces for outdoor life. Plantations around the terraces with a floor to floor circulation system store water and irrigate the plants. The roof of these hills and the terraces are planted with box hedges, resolving in a vertical park, which will improve the climate and ventilation as well as reduce energy and water usage. The Gwanggyo Power Centre will consist of 200,000 m2 housing, 48,000 m2 offices, 200,000 m2 mix of culture, retail, leisure and education and 200,00 m2 parking. Completion is envisioned for 2011.