Urban Escape

The district of Seocheon in Seoul, Korea, is  a thriving cultural and artist hot spot rich in cultural history yet under pressure by the recent growth of Korea. As Korea continues to grow and the process of globalization begins to take over, old ways begin to fade away. With this pressure in mind, the idea was to create a program fit for such a unique area with the intention to help revive old ways in the Seocheon.

With much of the culture revloving around Taoism, a section of the 8th passage became the driving force in the concept. “In dwelling be close to the land; in meditation go deep in the heart.”  Recalling the Soswaewon Garden, the tranquility of the mountains, bamboo, and wind, the Urban Escape was designed as a space to challenge typical meditation practices of escaping into nature  and single-pointed concentration to provide a new train of thought in the urban setting. A space for the community to remember, forget, and learn.