Cheonggyecheon Mediatheque was my thesis project at Inha University (15 years ago?! time flies!!). We were to choose a site first, analyze it, select a suitable program, then design a building. I do not know if this is still the process for thesis projects at the school, but I have to say, it could be misleading to students. Unless you have a land of your own in the real world, such process is highly unlikely. In most cases you would have to design a building with a function that your client wants.

Site analysis was done through a series of -scape: ethnoscape, financialscape, mediascape, ideoscape, and technoscape. The -scapes were inspired by Arjun Appadurai’s Modernity at Large.  Ethnoscape covered different types of people who were around the site, which included foreigners who were working in Korea for an embassy, tourists, people who work nearby, consumers who came to use cultural facilities around the site, people who come to learn foreign languages, merchants who have shops in Cheonggyecheon or who come to buy industrial parts, etc. Financialscape looked at global capital moving rapidly, depicting areas of global finance in the west of the site and culture and shopping district such as Myeong-dong, Jongro, and Euljiro around the site. Mediascape is about digital images – its mode, hardware, user, creator, and controller – which provides visuals, narratives, and repertories of ethnoscape. Ideoscape is related to ideologies of states and counter-ideologies; composed of worldview – a chain of ideas, freedom, rights, etc. Technoscape covers high and low technology and mechanical and informational technology which moves at high speeds. With Cheonggyecheon’s industrial district located at the east of site, site has a potential to create an information and technology based program such as a mediatheque.

 

Following are some diagrams for this project.

 

Cheonggyecheon Mediatheque is an eletronic/digital library with cultural spaces. It looked at the trend of e-library and how it would affect traditional library programs. E-books allow readers to read whenever and wherever they wish to via their mobile phone, tablet, or personal computers.  It would reduce space for bookshelves and librarians significantly, in turn increasing space for the visitors to the mediatheque. The new library would focus on the users rather than on physical books; providing more square feet to food & beverage space, galleries, auditorium, small meeting spaces, and etc. where people can gather, create, and share information. This increased “people” space would lead to spontaneous meetings, discussions and conversations.

 

 

Overall mass is penetrated by part of the existing express way to keep some of the old parts from the past. The express way would be laminated with glass, and underneath it would be digital signage which people can see as they walk up the ramp.

 

Here are some photos of the final model.

 

These are a few renderings I made in the following semester.

 

Following are plan, elevation, section, and detail drawings.