KOREA’S MEMORIAL SKYWALK

Yisabu, a general and politician of Silla Kingdom during the 6th century, is remembered for his voyage to Usan-Guk, the present-day Ulleungdo and Dokdo, where he conquered the island nation off Korea’s east coast. Historically, Samcheok with its strategic location, served a key role militarily including Yisabu’s voyage to Usan-Guk which was launched from Obon Port in 512 AD. As such, the city serves as a symbolic location for the memorial of the general’s voyage, highlighting historical and cultural significance of the event. The memorial proposed by A+U lab helps facilitate Samcheok’s efforts to transform itself into a regional hub for cultural tourism, strengthening the city’s tourism footprint.

Korean-based practice A+U Lab’s design for the Yisabu Dokdo Memorial conceptualises a place not only for historical remembrance but also as a destination for the local residents, in addition to a tourism leisure location — an open and inviting place for all. The plan envisions a place where a visitor would take a deliberate walk in a village filled with art and cultural experiences, on a skywalk alongside a picturesque mountain, in a memorial exhibition path imbued with leisurely activities, in a vast open park filled with the sun, in a sunken square hosting community events; wandering through an information centre equipped with amenities, and finally making a visit to the Yisabu Dokdo Memorial, providing a pleasant and educational experience.

The design strategy creates two distinctive paths consisting of open-air structures. One contains the memorial exhibition program, and the other contains places for the visitors to rest, play, nourish, learn and communicate. The paths converge and separate at multiple points in linear sequence, creating gradually shifting architectural environments where views, light, elevation and spatial depth are calibrated to create spaces suitable for the various activities.

The sail is a pivoting stretched fabric screen designed to serve two purposes. First, it is a device for calibrating light and views, deflecting and filtering light to suit the exhibition spaces along the path and directing the visitor’s view to various focal points the park. Second it acts as a symbolic design element, representing Yisabu’s voyage to Usan-Guk. Using Teflon-coated fibreglass fabric with internal metal frames and amber LED lights, the sail provides iconic and contrasting imagery for the memorial park from morning to night.

The park established three main goals: physical regeneration, cultural regeneration and livelihood regeneration. The proposal injects a bottom-up approach to initiate a village renewal with active community involvement, introducing limited commercial, culture and arts uses built on storytelling of the local history, linking the village with the project. The majority of the buildings in the village would be preserved through repair and improvement work, as well as a limited number of new buildings constructed with injected art, culture and community facilities. With the newly introduced path that links the village with its surroundings, A+U lab’s design of Yisabu Dokdo Memorial adopts a comprehensive and proactive approach to the memorial design that aims to shape quality urban environments for the local residents.

In addition, the centre shares exhibition and experience spaces. These areas include the culture square, a multi-use public forum for the local residents and the city, and provides additional venues for hosting events.