Green roof tops Daum Communications / Ilshin Building, Seoul, Korea Seoul is not known for it eco-friendly building designs, but a couple of buildings I encountered recently, which have significant green roofs, have made me thinks that there may be hope yet for this city. A Green roof according the Wikipedia: A green roof is…
Category: sustainability
Seoul, 15 years ago
Click image to view slideshow of Mapo redevelopment, 1994 Digging through some old photos, I found this set I took in 1994, of Mapo area, in Seoul. This area had been home to many informal settlers (so called “moon village” or 달동네) but had been “condemned” to be redeveloped and replaced by more of Seoul’s…
Telsa roadster Hot Wheels
Telsa Roadster Hot Wheels The Tesla Roadster was included in a pack of Hot Wheels my wife bought for our 3 year-old son on a recent trip to the US. Nice. Why does it not surprise me that there is a wiki page already on this toy.
Cities: the future of humanity
Here’s a presentation file for a lecture that I gave at my alma mater Yonsei University. Keep in mind this was an invited lecture to undergrad student in the architecture program as part of a class that fulfills their urban design requirement (read: not very academic). Cities and the future of humanity View more Microsoft…
International Symposium: Hanoi 2030
Hanoi 2030: International Symposium As if working on the 1st Report for the Hanoi master plan was not enough, between our reports to the Vietnam government steering committee and the Prime Minister, we held a 2-day international symposium April 21-22. The main goal of the symposium was to gain a better understanding of Hanoi within…
Hanoi: the first sustainable capital by 2030
Hanoi master plan 2030: first report to the Vietnamese government I’ve spent the most part of the March and April preparing the first formal report to the Vietnamese government for the project I am working on for JINA Architects: The Hanoi Capital Construction Master Plan to 2030 and Vision to 2050. This is a project…
Counter-Histories of Sustainability
In issue #18 of Volume, Panayiota Pyla writes in an article, Counter-Histories of Sustainability: As the meanings and goals of sustainability are debated by architects and academics because the planets problems are real and architecture has its share of responsibility we must also remember a lesson from the history of architecture: a great…
Hanoi: Think Different
Panorama view from 25th floor of Hanoi Towers * Hanoi Panorama The view from the penthouse suite balcony of the Somerset Grand Hanoi, a.k.a Hanoi Towers is pretty amazing. We’ve been looking for more economic alternatives for accommodations in Hanoi since we’ll visiting and working in Hanoi on a regular basis for the next year…
Thoughts on Sustainability or How to Grow Vegetables in the City
Community Garden in Bundang, KoreaThe sign reads: No gardening. The land is owned by Korea Land Corporation and will soon be sold and developed, therefore any cultivation is forbidden. No compensation shall be made for any damages to illegally cultivated goods. May 2005. – Korea Land Corporation It is said that what is everybody’s is…