*어반 커넥터 vs 어반 베리어 :가오슝[ De Architekten Cie. ] Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design

어반 베리어 or 어반 커넥터
도시는 변화하고 발전한다.
복잡하고 다양한 인간의 삶이 얽기고 설퀴면서
투영되는 도시는 우리와 같이 나이를 먹는다.
도시의 나이는 도시의 실질적인 건립 년도와는 상관없이
소통과 균형감 있는 발전으로 건강척도를 삼는다.
유아, 청년,장년, 노년 또는 죽는다.
지금 우리 서울은 몇살일까?

여기 옛영광을 뒤로 하고 시대의 한켜에
물러선 대만 가오슝의 해안도시를 보자.
도시를 움직이던 원동력인 바다의 항만과
이것을 수송하는 기차는 이미 뒤안길로 물러서서
지금의 도시를 방해하는 어반보이드로 전락했다.
도시의 주요거점인 하마센과 얀첸은 어반보이드( 구철로시설)로
막혀서 더이상 성장하지 못하고 도시 발전을 저해하고 있다.
그러면 물어본다. 어반 베리어로 남을 것인가?
어반 커넥터로 새롭게 태어날 것인가?
대답은 당연하다.
도시가 나아가야할 마래에 대한 확장과 발전,
그리고 이에 따르는 새로운 프로그램의 확충과
빌딩들을 엮어 줄수 있는 어반 커넥터가 방법이다.
주요거점을 자연스럽게 연결해주는 어반패브릭은
거점을 연결하는 동시에 주요 핵심코어 역활이 된다.
이 핵심코어를 중심으로 도시의 역사적 전통성의 문화시설과
도시 발전의 중요 거점이 산업단지 그리고
도시적 생활을 윤택하게 하는 주거단지를
하나로 묶는 복합 융화 존이 형성된다.
이것이 새롭게 태어나는 가오슝의 미래이자 꿈이다.

도시의 옛영광을 재현하면서 도시가 가지고 있는
역사와 전통 그리고 미래를 향한 발전적인
미래의 도시 발전상의 마스터플랜을 기대해 본다.

reviewed by SJ

Amsterdam-based practice De Architekten Cie., in collaboration with Rosetta Elkin of RSE Landscape, has won the open international Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design competition in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The competition was initiated by the city government of Kaohsiung to transform the derelict site of the old railyards and port station from a barrier between two important areas of the city (the Hamasen and Yancheng districts), into a connective piece of the urban fabric.

---

The stated ambitions by the client for the 15.42 hectare site are to highlight the cultural heritage of the site’s former function while introducing new programs and building volume to accommodate city expansion.  These twin objectives are to be achieved in a phaseable and highly sustainable manner. Since a large portion of the site and existing railway buildings are designated as historical monuments, the central challenge of the brief was to strike a balance between the desire for cultural preservation/revitalization, introducing new development onto the site, and establishing enough connections across site to transform the area from an urban barrier into an urban connector.

Far from being a tabula rasa condition, the richness and variety of historical and cultural artifacts on the site mean that the urban design must sensitively respond to the various conditions. In Cie’s proposal, new mixed-use urban blocks, commercial areas, renovation/restoration of industrial buildings for artist studios and galleries, railyards, rail lines, and station buildings were interwoven with a new linear park whose central program is an indoor/outdoor historical museum about the industrial history of the are and city. By combining the museological program with the park, the proposal is able to meet the twin objectives of historical preservation/revitalization, and environmental sustainability.

The design of the park itself, draws from historical rail lines and prioritizes a continuous pedestrian and cyclists route along the parks length. Specifically, the landscape surface is organized in such a way that vehicular connections across the site never intersect pedestrian and cyclist traffic through the park. As such, one of the iconic elements in the plan is the landmark/landbridge, a combination of landbridge, museological programs, and other functions.

For the perspective of urbanism, the ambition of the proposal was not to raze the site and start fresh.  Rather, it aims to sensitively extend the existing urban block morphology onto the site with appropriate programmatic mixes (from fully commercial to fully residential blocks) based on their adjacencies and individual conditions. 

Furthermore, the envelope and orientation of the building volume of each block is intended to minimize solar heat gain, maximize cross ventilation through the block, and provide excellent views for all the occupants.

“With the myriad of cultural monuments, the complex adjacencies, and rich history of the site, we tried to envision a place which is both sensitive to the historical urban context and ambitious in terms of environmental sustainability and the transformation the existing urban morphology. We feel strongly that, as the economy of Taiwan, gradually transforms from its manufacturing and industrial past, to one based on cultural production and tourism, our proposal can make a significant contribution to the evolution of the city of Kaohsiung,” say Cie associates Jason Lee and Patrick Koschuch.

from  bustler