Blue Line Park. Busan


Urban.
Installation.
Lighting.
Wayfinding.

Haeundae-gu. Busan. South Korea / December 2020 / Haeundae Blueline Co., Ltd. , City of Busan

Blue Line Park. Busan


Urban.
Installation.
Lighting.
Wayfinding.

works_loghi-awards_2x2-07
works_loghi-awards_2x2-03

Haeundae-gu. Busan. South Korea / December 2020 / Haeundae Blueline Co., Ltd. , City of Busan


The Blue Line Park is a linear urban park – which is equipped with scenic trains flanked by a pedestrian path – that unfurls along 5 km of the eastern coast in Busan (South Korea). It came about within the context of the redevelopment of a disused railway line overseeing the Sea of Japan that connected the dynamic Haeundae district to the nearby Songjeong seaside resort. The studio handled the complete art direction of Blue Line Park (150,474 m2) and designed the pedestrian walkways, the access roads, the installations, the lighting, the wayfinding, the logo and the visual identity, working on several level to reinstate the relationship between the inhabitants and the abandoned coastal area. A second phase is planned that will involve the creation of listening islands and sound installations to complete the pathway.

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The project has restored a naturalistic, recreational and narrative space to the city, one that has been enriched with installations that amplify the experience. The Blue Line Park route begins in the ultra-modern Haeundae district and is divided into three main stages: the first is Mipo Station, the departure station, at the foot of the Haeundae skyscrapers; the route then winds along a rocky peninsula on the sea until it reaches Cheongsapo, a typical fishing village that stretches out onto the coast with its small port; finally, it arrives at the historic station of Songjeong, a seaside resort in Busan with sandy beaches loved by families and young surfers. The plans of the two new stations – the first section of which has a panoramic cable car running alongside it – are by the Korean studio Mooyoung. The input of Migliore + Servetto has transformed the new functional route into a place with a strong experiential connotation geared towards hospitality, reactivating the relationship between the inhabitants of Busan and a long stretch of coast that has been neglected despite being home to a wealth of beautiful landscapes. The project is part of the movement to reconvert residual urban areas, especially disused infrastructures with a multi-purpose nature that lend themselves to generating interactive spaces on several levels, such as relational, naturalistic, sporty or touristic. The project does not erase the past but instead draws on and reinterprets it. For instance, the small craft activities and crop plantations had sprung up around the former railway line. This pre-existing aspect is integrated into the new layout of the area, which enhances the relationship with the naturalistic elements (the rocky hill and the sea) and with the historic settlements a short walk from the skyscrapers. The entrances are marked by tall information totems that welcome visitors, followed by a “forest” of yellow stems towering at a height of over 10 meters, similar to gigantic blades of grass, topped by a spotlight. These iconic vertical signs – becoming landmarks of identity and orientation, even from afar – are flanked by a system of corten steel benches with fluid shapes, some of which have a niche at the base, forming a ‘cocoon’ space equipped with wooden seats. This is followed by a clearing punctuated by six imposing metal arches that recall the train tracks and which intertwine with soft and irregular curves, marking the passage towards the station. The arches outline a new square, the Mipo Square, identifying a connecting area from the linear path in which the streets and lanes that were created to reach the surrounding gardens during the time of abandonment converge. The arches are situated as dynamic presences in dialogue with nature and light: they delineate shaded passages in relation to the motion of the sun and the moon, and are molded by the surrounding greenery, which can grow to the point of enveloping them. About 450 meters from Mipo Station the route meets a concrete tunnel that was part of the old railway where the “Rainbow Tunnel” installation has added chromatic dynamism to visits: the niches of the gallery have been strengthened with suspended overhanging corten arches and painted with graded chromatic fields, combined with colored glass panels that alternately close them off. The colored glass allows the train passengers to view the sea through a continuous chromatic mutation while, vice versa, the pedestrians on the path perceive the train as a range of frames in different colors. The reconversion of the old Haeundae railway is part of a wider territorial strategy launched by the metropolitan city of Busan aimed at harmoniously reconciling its past and future. Home to 3.6 million inhabitants, Busan is Korea’s second city after Seoul and it is the country’s main port hub with a strong orientation towards the sea, thanks also to its beaches, which attract tourists from all over the Peninsula. During the Korean War (1950-53), it was one of the few territories not to suffer destruction and to maintain it urban stratifications, which were lost in Seoul.


Photo by Jae Young Park

Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park


The Blue Line Park is a linear urban park – which is equipped with scenic trains flanked by a pedestrian path – that unfurls along 5 km of the eastern coast in Busan (South Korea). It came about within the context of the redevelopment of a disused railway line overseeing the Sea of Japan that connected the dynamic Haeundae district to the nearby Songjeong seaside resort. The studio handled the complete art direction of Blue Line Park (150,474 m2) and designed the pedestrian walkways, the access roads, the installations, the lighting, the wayfinding, the logo and the visual identity, working on several level to reinstate the relationship between the inhabitants and the abandoned coastal area. A second phase is planned that will involve the creation of listening islands and sound installations to complete the path.The project has restored a naturalistic, recreational and narrative space to the city, one that has been enriched with installations that amplify the experience. The Blue Line Park route begins in the ultra-modern Haeundae district and is divided into three main stages: the first is Mipo Station, the departure station, at the foot of the Haeundae skyscrapers; the route then winds along a rocky peninsula on the sea until it reaches Cheongsapo, a typical fishing village that stretches out onto the coast with its small port; finally, it arrives at the historic station of Songjeong, a seaside resort in Busan with sandy beaches loved by families and young surfers. The plans of the two new stations – the first section of which has a panoramic cable car running alongside it – are by the Korean studio Mooyoung. The input of Migliore + Servetto has transformed the new functional route into a place with a strong experiential connotation geared towards hospitality, reactivating the relationship between the inhabitants of Busan and a long stretch of coast that has been neglected despite being home to a wealth of beautiful landscapes. The project is part of the movement to reconvert residual urban areas, especially disused infrastructures with a multi-purpose nature that lend themselves to generating interactive spaces on several levels, such as relational, naturalistic, sporty or touristic. The project does not erase the past but instead draws on and reinterprets it. For instance, the small craft activities and crop plantations had sprung up around the former railway line. This pre-existing aspect is integrated into the new layout of the area, which enhances the relationship with the naturalistic elements (the rocky hill and the sea) and with the historic settlements a short walk from the skyscrapers. The entrances are marked by tall information totems that welcome visitors, followed by a “forest” of yellow stems towering at a height of over 10 meters, similar to gigantic blades of grass, topped by a spotlight. These iconic vertical signs – becoming landmarks of identity and orientation, even from afar – are flanked by a system of corten steel benches with fluid shapes, some of which have a niche at the base, forming a ‘cocoon’ space equipped with wooden seats. This is followed by a clearing punctuated by six imposing metal arches that recall the train tracks and which intertwine with soft and irregular curves, marking the passage towards the station. The arches outline a new square, the Mipo Square, identifying a connecting area from the linear path in which the streets and lanes that were created to reach the surrounding gardens during the time of abandonment converge. The arches are situated as dynamic presences in dialogue with nature and light: they delineate shaded passages in relation to the motion of the sun and the moon, and are molded by the surrounding greenery, which can grow to the point of enveloping them. About 450 meters from Mipo Station the route meets a concrete tunnel that was part of the old railway where the “Rainbow Tunnel” installation has added chromatic dynamism to visits: the niches of the gallery have been strengthened with suspended overhanging corten arches and painted with graded chromatic fields, combined with colored glass panels that alternately close them off. The colored glass allows the train passengers to view the sea through a continuous chromatic mutation while, vice versa, the pedestrians on the path perceive the train as a range of frames in different colors. The reconversion of the old Haeundae railway is part of a wider territorial strategy launched by the metropolitan city of Busan aimed at harmoniously reconciling its past and future. Home to 3.6 million inhabitants, Busan is Korea’s second city after Seoul and it is the country’s main port hub with a strong orientation towards the sea, thanks also to its beaches, which attract tourists from all over the Peninsula. During the Korean War (1950-53), it was one of the few territories not to suffer destruction and to maintain it urban stratifications, which were lost in Seoul.

Photo by Jae Young Park

Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park
Blue Line Park

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