Another Seoul #1: Revisioning Public Urban Infrastructure from Single-Use Utilities to Mixed-Use Civic Assets

Exhibition website
2020
Research
Exhibition
Urban Operations



WHAT

This research and exhibition explore new approaches to urban innovation in Seoul—one of the most densely populated cities in the world—under the theme “Analyzing and Understanding the Present.” The work examines how Seoul’s vast infrastructure systems, which occupy approximately 65% of the city’s total land area, can be reinterpreted as an architectural medium with the potential to reshape the city itself.
WHY

Seoul has reached a critical juncture where its urban expansion has met spatial and ecological limits. The project calls for a reevaluation of infrastructure, not merely as technical support but as a civic and spatial framework capable of fostering social interaction, environmental resilience, and public life.
HOW

Through spatial analysis, field research, and cross-scalar mapping, the study identifies how existing infrastructural spaces—such as drainage systems, retention basins, schools, and vehicle depots—can accommodate programs of “lifestyle SOCs” (social overhead capital) to enhance everyday civic experience. The exhibition and research collectively propose a shift from viewing infrastructure as hidden substructure to understanding it as architecture of the city.
WHERE / WHEN

Conducted in Seoul between 2018 and 2020, the research culminated in the exhibition An-other Seoul: Infrastructure as Urban Architecture at the Seoul Urban Architecture Exhibition Center, organized in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Urban Operations research group.

RESULT

The exhibition initiated new discourse on the role of infrastructure in shaping Seoul’s urban future. By redefining infrastructure as both a physical and civic system, the project proposed a vision for a new Seoul—one built upon innovative, sustainable, and human-centered infrastructure that supports high-quality urban life.









Minwook KangLinkedIn
CV
minwook@mit.edu
mintheworld.official@gmail.com



 


I do DJing for fun. This one’s mostly organic house, 
perfect for sunrise runs.