Federation of Korean Industries Tower in Seoul
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
recently announced the groundbreaking of the solar-powered Federation of Korean Industries Tower in Seoul, which will incorporate an advanced photovoltaic wall system that reduces energy usage while generating power. The 800 foot-tall tower will feature one of the most efficient solar electric facades in the world, and the overall added cost to the client is nearly zero.
Brilliant in its simplicity, the accordion-style exterior wall will contain building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) facing skyward, while glazing is angled toward the ground. This setup exploits the potential of the panels by giving them a preferred orientation, and the glass will be able to reflect a dramatically larger percentage of summer sun, thus reducing cooling loads. By taking advantage of a generous renewable tax credit, the tower will be paid seven times more for its electricity than what it pays. Coupled with an optimized angle, the solar panels’ efficiency will be unheard of for a vertical face mount.
Several floors will have full glazing in the upper portion to break the monotony of the building’s face, and also to allow deeper light penetration into the building. The overall cost of engineering the façade was not significantly more than a normal system, but the efficiency gains will provide a quick payback to the building owner. An adjacent conference center is a shaped like a giant glass oval, creating a counterpoint to the tall, rectangular tower.
http://inhabitat.com/korean-tower-boasts-one-of-the-worlds-most-efficient-solar-facades/
Korea’s New Galleria Citycenter Boasts the World’s Largest Illuminated Facade
UN Studio
just completed construction on a futuristic new department store in Korea that boasts an energy-efficient double skin and the largest illuminated facade in the world. The Galleria Centercity is both public and private, open and intimate, and the social components of the design are as important as the retail elements. Inside, layers of space expand upwards with many recesses for visitors to socialize and wander through, while the translucent exterior lets daylight penetrate in without overheating the complex. At night, the building glows like a lantern and dazzles passersby with a giant light show.
UN Studio‘s complex layered layout is wrapped in a day-lit, futuristic skin. Unlike most malls, this one takes a vertical approach, saving energy and land. Based on a propeller typology, the interior flows around a central pavilion with four wings allowing visitors to take multiple routes through the complex to discover the shops, entertainment and food venues. Just a quick train trip from the city center, the simple shape of the exterior betrays the variety of the spaces inside. A white interior dramatically improves the light quality, allowing for less artificial light.
The double-layered glass and translucent skin on the exterior allows light to penetrate into the white-colored core of the building, reducing energy consumption and connecting the inside with the outside. The facade’s fenestration creates a moire ripple effect in the day time, and at night it becomes a kinetic light show.
GREEN TOWERS IN THE PARK: Seoul Commune 2026
There are green towers and then there are green towers. Subtitled “Rethinking Towers In The Park,” the Seoul Commune 2026 project by Mass Studies is just sheer genius. Aside from its futuristic green aesthetic, the concept is an investigation into the viability of future sustainable community structures in dense metropolitan areas. The organically-shaped towers take the classic architectural idea of towers in the park, and literally turn the park into the towers themselves, offering a cheeky yet profoundly sustainable and forward-thinking solution to community development.
The towers’ internal functions are separated into public, private, and commercial, offering purely-private rooms called “cells” and communal spaces for public activity. Members of the commune may range from permanent residents to nomadic short-term lodgers. “Bulb” areas serve as commercial spaces including offices, public services, and welfare/medical facilities.
The skeleton of the towers is constructed using different types of glass, from photovoltaic glass to recessed glass panels that create shaded balconies. Atop the glass is a geotextile that allows for the growth of vines and other flora that provide additional cooling and environmental advantages to the building and surrounding site.
The towers’ organic forms come from a system of building components that range from dome shapes to conical and cylindrical modules. Each lends itself to specific functions, and when stacked, provide a variety of tower shapes that are each different yet geometrically related.
The project by the Korea-based firm came as a response to Korea’s rapid technological and architectural development, which the designers describe as “anarchical.” The Seoul 2026 proposal offers a fully-functional community development that is efficient, high-tech, and immensely sustainable.
Boutique Monaco, with green open space
It is located in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu. This building is office-and-residential complex(efficiency apartment). It is composed of 32 floors, 5 floors in the basement and 27 floors on the ground. Also it has 172 rooms and 49 types. The outward appearance represents trees, sky and cloud. It got Top 5 High-rise buildings awards in the world which German Architecture Museum awarded.
Completed in 2008, Boutique Monaco (also known as the missing Matrix building) is a 117-meter, 27-story residential skyscraper at the ward of Seocho-gu in Seoul the capital and largest city of Korea constructed by Mass studies.
A winner of the 2008 Silver Emporis Award, the building is an unusual combination of residential, office, the hotel Monaco and communal spaces with cultural and commercial rooms that have 172 units. The open spaces incorporated into the buildings’ grids create green spaces which enable a varied lighting and ventilation scheme.
A key aspect of Boutique Monaco was the removal of big chunks from the boxy volume. The main reason for this strategy was the architects desire to create micro-environments high up. Each of the 15 voids contains a “sky garden” overlooked by residents’ balconies.
Construction
Unlike the existing high-rises where one is segregated from the outside world as soon as they leave the ground floor, Boutique Monaco is a building where at each level there is a vertical open space accessible from different spots in the floor. The exterior, designed in an orthogonal pattern in the interest of efficiency in space allocation, is intended to strike a balanced harmony with the surrounding box-type high-rises.
In the plan for Boutique Monaco, the units were created in 49 different types and sizes and interconnected as if in an enormous puzzle. At the same time, different types of internal and external, private and public areas were installed.
The Interior finishes were made of green material like 15 different types of wood, 8 types of stone, 18 types of glass, and 9 types of paint. The total garden space, including the courtyard and the elevated terraces, is equal to 99.82 percent of the lot area. The housing sits on five floors of retail and commercial space distinguished by a structural skin of diagonal members. Although Boutique Monaco is fast establishing a reputation as a landmark building in Seoul, this however was not Mass Studies’ intention. “We were not striving for superficial uniqueness,” says Cho, who sees it as an experimental take on high-density housing. “We have created our own manual of how to deal with condensed urban conditions.’
To ensure occupant comfort at the top of the building wind tunnel testing was conducted by the structural designers. Other innovative design and construction measures were needed due to the box form of the building.This project was an experimental building with a new concept for the extremely densely developed urban spaces typically found in Asia.
Hotel Monaco
The Hotel Monaco is a luxury hotel and is no less impressive with counted royalty among its past guests. It hosted the first Ridotto Pubblico, an event where nobility and plebeians alike could retire for pleasure and intrigue.
The Facilities
The lobby was formed from a huge glass atrium, bedecked with crystal chandeliers, flowers galore and the ubiquitous marble features. Designed by Milanese architect Piero Lissoni, it covers over the old garden courtyard and bridges the gap nicely between outdoor and indoor spaces. A chic glass bar area leads off it, and further still the Grand Canal terrace restaurant, one of the nicest places to dine in the Hotel Monaco.
source: http://friendlyhojune.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/beautiful-buildings-in-seoul-1/
Urban Forest Cultural Center, New Office Building of Seongdong-gu
It is in Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu. It`s the new office building of Seongdong-gu. The transparent exterior and interior means open-administration for people. It has cultural spaces, convenience facilities such as book cafe, culture hall, garden in rooftop, conference room, permanent stage on the outdoors. A winning design for a new art and culture center in SeongDong-gu, Korea features an urban forest located within the building that creates a lush and inspiring environment for cultural programs. Seoul-based Unsangdong Architects created the winning proposal, “Culture Forest”, which boasts sustainable architecture, lots of trees and vegetation, and is powered by the sun.
The form of the building was adapted from a square volume, with sheared levels and holes replaced with green spaces. These green spaces are exposed to the outdoors and create an open circulation plan around the building’s interior program. Culture Forest is like an urban park wrapped up inside of a building with benches, trees, lush vegetation, and places to relax and reflect while looking down at the city. The sun will permeate these green holes and push its way into the building to provide natural lighting.
Inside, the culture and art center features a dramatic wine-colored Flying Theater composed of geometric shapes to enhance acoustics. The center will also provide library programs for residents in addition to concerts, children’s playing areas, and programming that encourages eco-friendly and healthy living. The roof of the building will feature a tree-filled courtyard and will be covered in solar panels to provide renewable energy for the center.
A circulating set of walkways within the building form an undulating landscape that creates an inviting atmosphere and a rich cultural program.The new culture and arts center will be most noted for the green space inside the building, which is like an urban park wrapped up around the center’s programs. Spaces open to the outdoors will hold trees, bushes and lush vegetation, providing space for quiet contemplation above the city streets. The center will include one large theater and auditorium called the Flying Theater, which will be wine-colored and be built for enhanced acoustics. A walkway and circulation space will wrap around the entire building, offering up space for little courtyards as well as artistic space. The roof will feature a number of tree-filled courtyards and more space to soak up the sun. Outdoor walkways and stairs will connect the various programmatic areas together. Solar energy, coupled with vegetation and daylighting will provide an eco-friendly built environment.
The Flying Theater will light up at night and project out into the city based upon the activity for the evening. The circulation pathways will connect from the street level with the various programs inside the building, creating a condensed campus like feel.
source: http://inhabitat.com/urban-forest-cultural-center-unveiled-for-korea/
New Seoul City Hall to be green city landmark using ground heat for energy source
The new City Hall building slated for completion February 2011 is to be Seoul’s new landmark, a symbol of the low carbon, green city. The city announced a plan that calls for utilizing new forms of renewable energy, such as geothermal energy, solar energy and sunlight for 11.3 percent of the building’s total energy usage with geothermal warming and cooling systems(geothermal exchange system) to reduce energy consumption.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been constructing a new city hall in front of Seoul Plaza since September 2009 after tearing down the old one, which was built in 1926 by the Japanese government during its 1910-45 colonial rule on the peninsula.
Out of its annual energy consumption estimate of 13,807 kilowatts, the new building will get 45.2 percent of its total energy from ground heat, absorbed through halls made in the ground under the building, city officials said. The geothermal system is expected to save about 840 million won ($77,380) and reduce 228 tons of greenhouse gas a year, they added.
The new city hall complex will have four stories plus four underground levels equipped with a public library and culture center open to citizens and a 13-story annex building, which are expected to open in May next year.
The renewable energy usage target announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government is markedly high – most Korean buildings’ renewable energy usage is less than 5 percent. The main building which will be remodeled into a library and a gallery will utilize geothermal energy for all its cooling and heating energy needs. LED lights will be used instead of fluorescent lights, allowing solar energy to be used for lighting the building.
The city has also come up with a novel way to recycle rain water or heat from steam water to use them for heating and cooling systems. In the summer ice will be made at nighttime when electricity is cheaper. The ice will then be used to cool the building during the daytime. Cooling costs can be reduced in this way. There is also a plan to install two micro combined heat and power generating units (350 KW) that can generate both electricity and heat at the same time.
The new City Hall building at 31 Taepyeongno 1-ga, Jung-gu includes a new annex with six basement floors and 13 floors above ground measuring 71,811 square meters in total area, and a remodeled main building measuring a total of 18,977 square meters.
Source: http://english.seoul.go.kr/gtk/news/news_view.php?idx=6681/
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/04/113_85879.html
Namsangol Hanok village, which is Korean traditional houses town using an unique floor-heating system, Ondol
Namsangol Hanok Village, also known as “A Village of Traditional Houses in the Namsan Valley”, is a Korean village located in the area of Pil-dong neighborhood in Jung-gu, a central district of Seoul, South Korea where hanok or Korean traditional houses have been restored to preserve the original atmosphere of the area. The Namsangol Hanok Village offers one the opportunity to experience a wide cross-section of Joseon-era citizenry and activities, from royalty to commoners. A great effort has been made to accurately furnish each dwelling with appropriate era and social status appointments.
Korean Traditional Architecture Research Hanok, Eco-friendly architecture with floor heating system in Korean Traditional Architecture. Hanok sought to create a living space based on the coexistence of nature and humans. The environment-friendly aspects of traditional Korean houses range from the structure’s inner layout to the building materials which were used. The raw materials used in Hanok, such as soil, timber, and rock, are all natural and recyclable and do not cause pollution. Another unique feature of traditional houses is their special design for cooling the interior in summer and heating the interior in winter. Since Korea has hot summers and cold winters, the ‘ondol〔gudeul〕’, a floor-based heating system, and ‘daecheong,’ a cool wooden-floor style hall were devised long ago to help Koreans survive the frigid winters and to block sunlight during summer. These primitive types of heating and air conditioning were so effective that they are still in use in many homes today.
Especially, main heating system, Ondol means “warm stone.” Made by putting mud over sub-floor heating stones, Ondol is a main feature of traditional Korean houses. The floor of the Ondol room is made of flat stones and mud, and tunnels through which smoke can pass under the flat stones. A Butumak, which is a stove, and a chimney are outside the Ondol room at the entrance, and the exit of smoke is through a pathway beneath the floor. When the Butumak is lit, hot smoke flows beneath the sub-floor heating stones and warms the room. Ondol was originally fired by wood, but modern homes and apartments are built with heating pipes embedded in the floors. Heated water circulating through the pipes, warmed by gas or electricity, makes the floor warm in all the rooms of a house. In South Korea, 
over 90% of the houses have radiant ondol floor heating.
Ondol is a very efficient heating system during the winter both environme
ntally and economically. This is because heat energy gets trapped under the floors so it can keep the room warm for a long time with a very small amount of fuel. According to an article, “An Energy Saving Technique Using Ondol Heating Schedule Control of Housing Units in Korea”, after one heating, the floor remains warm for ten days in spring and fall, and for three days in winter, even when the temperature is below 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, during the summer, the under-floor stones keep the room cool. It brings about an energy saving effect of up to 20 percent per building compared to a western heating that can transfer no more than a fifth of the total heat energy into the room. It means that we do not need to waste the energy such as electricity and gas in order to warm the room. In addition to this, the heat is used to cook as well. Through this structure that can use the heat in the room and kitchen, we could avoid duplicated use of energy. As a result, if every building installs the Ondol system, the world can save the amount of gas and postpone the day when energy is exhausted.
The West green building market has discovered the advantages of ondol and has been catching up rapidly. The growing interest in ondol has been motivated by the recent global effort that advocates sustainable development. The green building field was not an exception. The architects have tried to make sustainable design or environmentally friendly design. And they began to see the ondol as a potential green building material expecting an economical effect of exceeding over a billion dollar per year. As a result, ondol was selected as a draft international standard by International Standard Organization Technology Committee. At the same time, ondol is installed by over a half of new buildings in the western Europe. The U.S.’s ondol market is also developing over 20 percent annually with the slogan, Green Building, Well Being, Energy Efficient.
Source: www.mshyunarchitect.com/ www.facebook.com/pages/HanOk/158551712736/ http://www.han-style.com/english/hanok/science.jsp
Seoul Central Post Office
Building profile
1. Building location: 21-1, 1Ga, Chungmu-Ro, Jung-Gu, Seoul, Korea
2. Building type: Office
3. Project owner: Ministry of information and Communication of Korea
4. Constructor: GS Engineering & Construction
5. Building area: 3,155.55㎡
6. Gross floor area: 72,798.30㎡
7. Green space ratio: 18.75%
8. Number of floors: 21 stories above ground, 7 story underground
9. Structure type: Reinforced concrete structure /Steel-frame structure
Environmental Design Starategies
1. 
Land of use and commuting transportation
•Using information and communication equipment of ultra high speed
•Accessibility to public transportation
- 2. Energy
- ·resources and management
•Providing custody facilities for recycling waste
-4ormoregarbagecansforsortingwaste
-sortingandstoragespaceoneachfloor
•Reduction of municipall yprovided potable water use
•Water saving through rain water usage
•Gray water system
•Using fire extinguishers which do not use halon
•Provision of manual and guide on building operation and management by items
•Installing under floor air conditioning and access floor system
•About 22% of the maximum heating design loads to be substituted by steam supply from power generator which is greener system
•Semi air flow window system
•Low-epair glasses(westside)
•Photovoltaic power generation
•Heat exchanger to reduce outside air load
•Geothermal heat pump system
3. Ecological environment
•Roof garden
•Creation of aquaticbio to peand terrestrial
4. Indoor environmental quality
•Entirely nonsmoking building
•Prohibition of using materials containing asbestos and indicating it on spec.
•Providing rest place and planting spaces for building users
•Individual control for temperature and lighting to increase energy efficiency and productivity
•Central air-conditioning system
•Measurements and controlling outdoor noise level
Source: IV.Green_Buildings_in_Korea http://www.asiapacificpartnership.org/pdf/BATF/5th_meeting/IV.Green_Buildings_in_Korea.pdf
Green Tomorrow: New energy self-sufficient house by Samsung C&T
A local builder has unveiled an eco-friendly residential construction whose net consumption of fossil fuels is zero.
“Green Tomorrow,” built in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, as a pilot project, substantially diminishes energy consumption by adopting 68 environmental technologies and generating as much clean energy as it uses, its developer, Samsung C&T Corp., said Sunday.
The Samsung Green Tomorrow house is a 500 square meter zero energy house that is meant to showcase a wide array of state-of-the-art green building strategies. It was designed by Samoo Architects with Arup providing consulting assistance. Dubbed as Green Tomorrow incorporates 68 energy-saving or energy-creating technologies that are capable of generating energy without using electricity or gas. The construction of the zero-energy house is a pilot project that will reduce by 56 percent the 33,055 kilowatts of energy consumed by most households annually through energy-saving appliances. As far as the remaining 44 percent of the energy requirement is concerned, it will come from renewable energy sources.
Among the home’s innovative technologies are a sophisticated energy distribution system that communicates with the grid, a high-performance facade that reduces energy consumption, daylight sensors, heat pumps, radiant floor heating, high-efficiency lighting and 163 square meters of rooftop photovoltaic panels. All of these technologies work together to create what they are calling a zero-energy, zero-emissions residence.
They also went for all other green building strategies such as dual flush toilets, waterless urinals and a greywater system that reduces water consumption. Low-VOC materials and improved ventilation rates ensure a healthy interior.
LEED platinum is an incredible achievement by any means. And the Green Tomorrow is one more showcase residence that shows what the future of sustainable building will hold.
By adjusting fully optimized layouts and using energy-efficient equipment and materials, the new residence reduces energy that is typically consumed by apartments by 56 percent, the company said. It can produce energy it needs through the use of solar panels and other alternative methods, thus achieving self-sufficiency in energy consumption.
Aside from the energy saving, Green Tomorrow is also a “no-carbon” house _ it uses sustainable technologies, such as landscaping based on restoring ecology, and eco-friendly finishing materials, including recycled timber and bio amalgamates.
Green Tomorrow, the no-carbon house, includes sustainable technologies like landscaping based on restoring ecology, and eco-friendly finishing materials, including recycled timber and bio amalgamates. It also incorporates heat-insulating boards, three-layer windows, no-electricity interior lighting and electrical installation and ventilating systems in order to minimize energy consumption. Ground energy will take care of heating and cooling of the house, while 176 solar panels installed on the roof will generate 21 megawatts of electricity per hour annually. All these green features have resulted in earning a platinum rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for the building.
These measures have earned the building a “platinum” rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a certified eco-friendly construction assessment system of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Samsung C&T said it will review the efficiency of the cutting-edge technologies used in Green Tomorrow and analyze accumulated data, to apply them in stages to houses it builds in the future.
The builder is currently supplying “green apartments” that cut down energy consumption by 30 percent. It plans to reveal new apartments that reduce consumption by up to 80 percent in a pilot scheme launch scheduled for next year.
Samsung also plans to gradually extend those sustainable technologies to its signature apartment brand, “Raemian,” from 2013, as well as to other kinds of constructions such as office buildings, with the ultimate aim of making all of its constructions energy self sufficient.
For the technical improvement of eco-friendly buildings around the country, the company also will make public the related data and know-how collected during the construction and operation for the first three months of Green Tomorrow.
Construction costs for Green Tomorrow were double those of other buildings, but the price gap will be narrowed to around 10 percent when it is commercialized in 2013, according to the company.
The goal is well ahead of the Korean government’s plan, which will request all residential buildings to cut energy consumption by 30 percent by 2012.
“All our constructions will be equipped with the new technologies verified through the Green Tomorrow project, so they will be upgraded editions,” Samsung C&T Vice President Lee Gyu-jae said in a statement.
source: http://www.greendiary.com/entry/green-tomorrow-new-energy-self-sufficient-house-by-samsung-ct/
http://inhabitat.com/zero-energy-green-tomorrow-house-achieves-leed-platinum/
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/11/123_55105.html
“Restoring Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon green building structure: The 10th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design”
ABOUT THE GREEN PRIZE
The Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design was established in 1986 on the occasion of the celebration of Harvard’s 350th and the Graduate School of Design’s 50th anniversaries, and to mark the visit of his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, to Harvard and the GSD. The award is made periodically by the GSD for an urban design project larger in scope than a single building, constructed anywhere in the world during the previous ten years. Award-winning projects are selected because they make a positive and substantial contribution to the public realm of a city, improve the quality of urban life, and demonstrate a humane and worthwhile direction for the design of urban environments.
THE CHEONGGYECHEON RIVER PROJECT IN SEOUL, KOREA WON THE GREEN PRIZE!!!!
Statement by exhibition curator Joan Busquets
Cheonggyecheon is a nearly 6 km long, modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development required it to be covered by transportation infrastructure. It was a $900 million project.
The evolution of the Cheonggyecheon River in just twenty-nine months from an outmoded utilitarian highway into a multipurpose performative infrastructural piece of unprecedented size merits recognition as a seminal project in contemporary urban design. The project is a remarkable achievement that recovers the biological and social ecology of the city, and demonstrates the profound ability of design at the urban scale to provoke positive transformation effectively over large territories. The project signifies a broader sea change in Asian attitudes toward city design, from a quantitative model concerned primarily with growth to a more qualitative program that incorporates quality of life and environmental sustainability into economic development strategies.
City design cannot be regarded merely as the product of an inspired designer or a skillful politician; projects at the scale of the Cheonggyecheon intervention often do not have a single designer and, in most cases, require exemplary political support and public negotiation. In the case of the Cheonggyecheon River Restoration Project, the successful completion was made possible by the presence and constant support of Mayor and President Lee Myung-bak, the work of the urban design team at the Seoul Development Institute, the coordination of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, a public participation process, and the contributions of specialists and engineers from various firms. Together these diverse players formed a brilliant and effective team, collaborating to establish formal logics and systems of synergy among disciplines and across specialized sectors. We see here the interdisciplinary role of the urban design project, facilitating critical connections between landscape and economics, engineering and planning, politics and architecture.
Cheonggyecheon is an urban intervention with far-reaching significance for the city as a whole, as the project scope is far more extensive than the linear park. Environmentally, the restored waterway and plantings have not only changed the ecology along its banks but have affected the climatic conditions in the city center. Economically, the Cheonggyecheon has stimulated business activity in the surrounding area and, for the first time in Seoul’s modern history, effectively linked the north and south of Seoul while reducing traffic pressure on the central business district by increasing the transportation capacity of buses and subways. The project stands as clear evidence that coordinated urban design can catalyze economic development, reinforce connection with the natural environment, and improve the quality of the urban condition for residents and visitors alike. Moreover, the project is paradigmatic of sustainable attitudes toward city design and development, integrating systemic public transportation improvements with meticulous ecological restoration to facilitate novel, authentic, and innovative urban experiences.
mygreenkorea 