Hongik University Seoul Campus | OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

According to the Oxford Dictionary – or the Cambridge for that matter – a campus is “the buildings of a university or college and the land around them.” In the typical image that illustrates this definition the “land around them” is often a generous stretch of green land and the buildings a collection of politely distanced architectural objects. That is the case in Oxford. And Cambridge. And also for many campuses in Korea. The Hongik Seoul Campus, however, is different. Built in the 1950s on the slopes of the Wau Mountain in Seoul, it has been rapidly saturated with buildings, reaching the limits of expansion. “The land around them” hardly exists today. It has become “the land between them.” 

That’s not to say there is no quality in Hongik. Its seemingly random arrangement of buildings and outdoor spaces has cultivated a culture of appropriating space, of generating new habitats for arts and science. Over time, this culture has expanded beyond the campus into the nearby Hongdae district, known today for its spontaneous performances, energy and nightlife. Today the relation between the campus and the city is under threat by its most recent additions that limit the physical connections between the two. But fortunately for the campus’s future, an open field at the foot of the mountain, quasi-unbuilt, has been made available for construction by a new planning ordinance from the Seoul Metropolitan Government – an opportunity to turn Hongik into a campus ‘by the book’, or simply continue its logic of densification? 

Our design does both: It brings the missing green and maximizes the campus’ built up area. Conceived as a natural extension of the Wau Mountain, the new addition is situated below the ground. The buildings’ rooftops form a network of paths sheltered by trees, which connect the campus’ main access points with the adjacent neighborhood of Hongdae, an area known for its street art, local shops and nightlife. Between the buildings, courtyards bring light deep into the buildings and link the buildings in unexpected ways, forming a continuous sequence of outdoor spaces. 

Programmatically, the new buildings are organized in three sectors: high-tech labs, close to the Engineering Faculty; amenities at the center; and maker spaces towards Hongdae. An art center will occupy the central buildings to serve as a bridge between education and culture, while the perimeter will host a ring-shaped multipurpose learning hub, which offers direct connectivity to surrounding faculty buildings. At the level of Hongdae, a central floor with public amenities runs through all buildings, inviting visitors inside, and allowing one to move up or down no more than three floors. It is the place where Hongik and Hongdae blend once again. 

[CN]

校园或校区一词，根据牛津或剑桥字典的定义，指“大学或学院建筑以及围绕在建筑四周的土地”。从这定义所描绘的典型图像来看，“建筑四周的土地”通常是一片广阔绿地，而建筑则是一群保持着适当距离的建筑物。这样的例子比比皆是，在牛津和剑桥是如此，在韩国的许多院校也如是。但弘益大学的校园，却与此有所不同。这座校园坐落在首尔市内的卧牛山（Wau Mountain）山坡上，兴建于20世纪50年代，其后随着大学的扩张园内建筑很快达到饱和，已无法再作扩建。“围绕建筑四周的土地” 如今已几近不存在，而是变成了“建筑之间的土地”。 

然而，这并不意味着弘大校园没有可取的品质。其看似随意的建筑及户外空间布局，却发展出一种让艺术和科学活动占据利用空间、为其创造新的生长栖息地的文化。久而久之，这种文化已扩展到校外邻近的弘大区。今日的弘大地区正是以其活跃的自发表演、活力和夜生活而闻名。然而，最近期新增的建筑使校园与城市之间的关系受到威胁，限制了两者在物理空间上的联系。但幸运地，因首尔市政府新出台规划条例，位于山脚下的一块近乎未曾开发的空地现可供大学建设使用。而这次机会，对于弘大校园的未来而言，将会是让其变为一座“依书从矩”的校园，还是仅是其当前密集化的布局逻辑的延续？ 

我们提出的设计方案综合了两者特质，为校园注入过往缺失的绿化元素，同时创造最大化的建筑面积。新增建筑构思设计为卧牛山的自然延伸，设于地面层以下。这些建筑的屋面形成林荫小径，连接大学的各个主出入口与毗邻弘大的城市社区。建筑之间，拾级而下的露天庭院将自然光线引入校园深处，并以富有新意的方式串联各建筑，织造形成一连串的户外空间。 

在功能内容上，新大楼布局划分为三个分区：靠近工程学系的为高科技实验室；中部为配套设施；靠近弘大城市社区的为创客空间。位于基地中心区的艺术中心成为教育和文化之间的桥梁，而环绕其四周的建筑空间为多功能学习中心，与周边的教学楼直接相连。衔接校外城市社区的中央楼层集中了各项公共配套设施，迎接访客入内，并连接贯通园区内全部大楼，让上下行移动可在三层楼之内。此楼层正是重新联结弘益大学与弘大社区的纽带，让两者再度交融。 

Partner: Chris van Duijn 

Associate: Ravi Kamisetti 

Competition team: Ken Fung, Felicia Gambino, Xaveer Roodbeen, Jae Seung David Koo, Hyun Keun Im, Yi Fei Yuan 

Local Architects: dA Architecture Group Façade: VSA Structure, MEP and Sustainability: Arup Hong Kong Landscape: Office Parkkim 

Visualization: Negativ 

Model: OMA and RJ Models 

Images courtesy by Negativ for OMA

Image courtesy of OMA