Deconstruction/Construction: The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project in Seoul

by Joan Busquets i Grau (Editor), Mohsen Mostafavi (Contributor), Eve Blau (Contributor)

The restoration of the Cheonggyecheon River that runs through Seoul, Korea, in a mere twenty-nine months―transitioning from an outmoded highway into a multipurpose performative infrastructure piece of unprecedented size―merits recognition as a seminal project in contemporary urban design. This remarkable achievement recovers the biological and social ecology of the city and demonstrates the profound ability of design at the urban scale to provoke positive transformation effectively over large territories. The project also signifies a broader sea change in Asian attitudes toward city design, from a quantitative model concerned primarily with growth to a more qualitative program that incorporates quality of life and environmental sustainability into strategies for economic development.

In this well-illustrated volume, contributors consider the ecological, infrastructural, and urban impacts of this exceptional project at the heart of the city. For its many merits, the Cheonggyecheon restoration was awarded the Tenth Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design by the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

86 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2011

About the author

Joan Busquets i Grau (El Prat de Llobregat, 1946) és un arquitecte i urbanista català titulat per la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya el 1969 i doctorat per la mateixa el 1975, en la qual ocupa actualment la càtedra d'urbanisme. També és catedràtic de la Graduate School of Design de la Universitat Harvard des de 2002, i professor convidat i consultor en universitats de diversos països. Va ser guardonat amb el Premi Erasmus l'any 2011, un premi anual per a una persona que hagi fet una contribució excepcional a la cultura europea, societat o ciències socials, "en reconeixement a la seva impressionant i multifacètica tasca en el camp de la planificació urbanística ". També li fou atorgat el Premi Nacional de Cultura l'any 2011 per la seva aportació com a urbanista, escriptor i professor.