Seoul South Korea
JYOON, in a strategic consortium with Heerim, SODO, and Seoan, was invited to participate in the international competition for the urban design of the 3rd generation new town in Bucheon, South Korea, where they presented a vision titled "Layered City" that moves beyond a flat blueprint to propose a three-dimensional, interconnected urban fabric that integrates the site's rich history with cutting-edge technology to realize an ideal, lived environment. Recognizing that the site holds a distinct "trace of life" from its previous occupants, the design is structured around overlapping layers of urban complexity, utilizing natural resources like water irrigation canals and agricultural grid patterns as essential starting points rather than erasing them. This concept is visualized as a stack of four core "cities": the "Palimpsest City" dedicated to the memory of agricultural land by integrating urban farms within the historical grid; the "Capillary City" which revitalizes the area’s original water context into a vibrant, networked waterfront; the "30km/h City" which establishes a core pedestrian-friendly system by routing all heavy traffic underground through a multi-level "Super Spine" strata to create safe ground-level greenways; and "Laputa City" which embodies future-ready, high-density development with interacting vertical communities and innovation-driven spaces. The master plan is organized around two primary structural drivers: an "Urban Main Axis" (Super Spine) that integrates S-BRT and higher-speed transport for seamless connectivity, and "Urban Connections" designed as economic and social innovation engines. Throughout the project, sustainable and advanced systems are integrated, including complex multi-layer underground infrastructure to separate traffic from a vibrant pedestrian ground plane with roof gardens, and smart energy grids with solar panels within the "Super Spine," ultimately achieving a balance between technological efficiency and human-centric design where history is respected and communities can interact to fully live a new, ideal life. ky community that complements the adaptable residential units inside.