‘10-Minute City’ Planned In Seoul Is Self-Sustaining & Needs No Vehicles
Image © Virgin Lemon for UNStudio and featured with permission
In our increasingly busy world, convenience and efficiency tend to be things sought-after with open arms. Hence the concept of the 15-minute city, where everything can be reached in just a quarter of an hour.
Taking this to the next level is Project H1, a concept devised by UNStudio for a 10-minute city in Seoul, South Korea. This new microneighborhood takes on an old industrial site with plans to transform it into a “smart” city befitting of the times. It’s been greenlighted, though work to realize the vision hasn’t started.
Image © UNStudio and featured with permission
Image © WAX for UNStudio and featured with permission
Backed by the Hyundai Development Company, this new city is planned around the prospect of a highly-connected future, “where residents have all the conveniences of the city within a 10-minute walk from their homes.”
And of course, because everything is within such easy reach, there isn’t a need for cars and roads, too. Instead, numerous footpaths ensure that everything is pedestrian-friendly.
Project H1 is designed to become “a fully digitally serviced neighborhood.” Technology will be used to “enhance the daily lives of the residents and free up time for leisure activities,” with digital infrastructure also being used for things like managing energy production and consumption.
Image © Virgin Lemon for UNStudio and featured with permission
Spanning 125 acres, the district will see eight residential buildings spring up alongside all the amenities its residents could need for a comfortable daily life. These include things like co-working offices, study spaces, entertainment and fitness centers, and urban farms for an even more self-sustaining lifestyle.
Image © Virgin Lemon for UNStudio and featured with permission
Also included in the masterplan shared by the studio is a Commercial Business Plot, which boasts a strategic location in the vicinity of 11 universities and easy access to a train station. This was “designed for innovators and creatives, with the ambition to become a destination where people can work, live and learn together.”
Image © WAX for UNStudio and featured with permission
Clean energy will be generated in the neighborhood itself, while rainwater-catching systems will ensure a sustainable flow of water for the residents and visitors. Recycling bins are peppered throughout the design, while dedicated stations collect waste to be composted for urban farming.
UNStudio co-founder Ben van Berkel says in a statement that the studio has endeavored to create “the ultimate contemporary 10-minute city, where the daily life experience of the residents is the top priority.”
Image © UNStudio and featured with permission
Van Berkel explains the principle of “with time that is saved, more time is created,” stating that by freeing up travel time, residents will have more control over how their days are spent, be it living, working, leisure, or all three and more.
CNN reports that while project has been given the go-ahead, no confirmed timeline is available just yet.
Image © Virgin Lemon for UNStudio and featured with permission
[via CNN, images © WAX & Virgin Lemon for UNStudio and featured with permission]
Also check out these recent news
