How to build a sustainable, green city

KIM BONG-RYOL
The author is an architect and a professor emeritus at the Korea National University of Arts.

It is no coincidence that global tech companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks all started in a city in the northwestern part of the United States. In the 20th century, Seattle was the center of the military and heavy industries, most famous as the home of Boeing.

The city government has set a new vision of becoming a “green and sustainable city” and attracted IT-based industries while encouraging public arts and culture projects and expanding green spaces.

The city attempted an active transformation by constructing notable public buildings such as the Seattle Art Museum, designed by Robert Venturi, and the Seattle Public Library designed by Rem Koolhaas and converting a gas plant into a park.

The Olympic Sculpture Park, which opened in 2007, is the pinnacle of the urban effort. The 2,472 meter (8,110 feet) Olympic Mountain stands between Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. The city never hosted the Olympics, but the park is named after the mountain.

Located between downtown and Puget Sound, Seattle was once an industrial site for oil and gas reserves. As a result, soil contamination was serious. The industrial railways and highways along the coast cut off the beach from the city completely.

After the board of directors of the Seattle Art Museum proposed a plan to turn the site into a green space for the arts, the project was launched with a $30 million donation. The groundbreaking proposal by Weiss/Manfredi Architects — the winner of the design competition — was realized successfully, and the existing railways and highways are now covered with artificial land in zigzags, connecting the city’s downtown with the beach.

Lawns were created on top with installations and sculptures to make the park. The architects who set an example of public architecture are also the primary designers of the Muju Taekwondo Center in Korea.

The long bridge from the city center to the beach became a walking trail over greenery and a huge art museum with 26 environmental sculptures. Visitors can appreciate works by world-class artists such as Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra and Mark Di Suvero for free, anytime.