Thomas Balsley Associates

As one of the six mega-project sites known as the Han River Renaissance Plan, the city of Seoul Korea is transforming the 300 acre Magok site of ex-urban sprawl and marginally productive agricultural land into a new major metropolitan park thematically focusing on history and nature. With over 300 entries worldwide Thomas Balsley Associates, in collaboration with Samoo Architects of Seoul and New York, received 1st prize in the international design competition run by the City of Seoul. The winning proposal provides diverse programs and site amenities including Seoul’s first boating marina, cultural institutions focusing on art and ecology, recreational water bodies, and extensive trail networks linking the upland neighborhoods, long separated from their maritime history, back to the waterfront.