Home Architecture News Heatherwick Studio’s plans of reimagining Seoul’s Nodeul Island
Architecture News

Heatherwick Studio’s plans of reimagining Seoul’s Nodeul Island

Share
Heatherwick Studio's plans of reimagining Seoul’s Nodeul Island
Share
Nodeul Island with greenery
Nodeul Island © MIR

Heatherwick Studio recently revealed their design that transformed an artificial island on the Han River in the center of Seoul into a new public park. Their design won global competition, among many other proposals. The project is named Soundscape and aims to create a trail of dramatic spaces on different levels. The design includes a space to host musical performances and artistic interventions within the biodiverse landscape.

Seoul’s mountainous terrain has significantly inspired the design and the patterns created by soundwaves that were selected following a year-long series of exhibitions, consultations, and a public vote. Thomas Heatherwick, the founder and design director of Heatherwick Studio, said: “I am thrilled that Soundscape has been chosen by the people of Seoul. In this hyper-digital age, we’ve had so many amazing innovations in the way people live, but there has also been an increasing sense of loneliness and isolation. We want to make a hyper-physical place that reconnects Seoulites with nature, culture, and, most importantly, with each other,” about the connection of the project with the public.

Nodeul Island with lights at night
Nodeul Island © MIR

Instead of demolishing the existing artificial landscape, the design aims to improve the riverbanks with soft and natural plantations. Visitors will experience a landscape that evolves as the tides and seasons change. Visitors will be able to enjoy a changing landscape that evolves with the tides and seasons. The ground level will feature an arts center and a public beach, while as the landscape ascends, an events podium will be revealed, connecting to a striking 1.2-kilometer-long skywalk. This skywalk will consist of a series of small floating islets, providing resting areas with stunning views of the island and the river back to Seoul.

Nodeul Island will give everyone an amazing excuse to escape and embrace the city. A landscape that bends and folds like soundwaves will combine with a new nature-rich waterfront and offer people a place to discover and express the culture of Seoul. 

Thomas Heatherwick, the founder and design director of Heatherwick Studio

Soundscape, Nodeul Island will be Heatherwick Studio’s first project to be realized in South Korea. The construction works are planned to begin soon, and the new Nodeul Island is anticipated to be open for visitors in 2027.

Share
Written by
Reyyan Dogan

Reyyan is an Istanbul-based architect and researcher. She continues her second degree on sociology and master's degree on alternative architectural practices. Her areas of interest are urban political ecology, environmental conscious design and changing production-consumption practices.

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Related Articles
Coldefy Brings a Bamboo-Cooled Urban Oasis to Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
Architecture NewsArchitecture

Coldefy Brings a Bamboo-Cooled Urban Oasis to Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

French architecture studio Coldefy will present its forward-thinking project Cool my City...

Celebrating 100 years of Art Deco
Architecture News

Celebrating 100 years of Art Deco

A century ago on April 29, 1925 in Paris, a design revolution began...

The New Matrix of Architecture: A Recap from the 47th Yapı Fair
EventsArchitecture News

The New Matrix of Architecture: A Recap from the 47th Yapı Fair

This year at the 47th Yapı – Turkeybuild Istanbul Fair, Parametric Architecture...

Subscribe to all newsletters

Join our community to receive the latest insights and updates!

© 2025 ParametricArchitecture. All Rights Reserved. By utilizing this website, you are consenting to our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Statement. In compliance with the privacy laws of Turkey and the United States, we recognize and respect your rights. Please be aware that we may receive commissions for products bought through our affiliate links. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or transmission of any material from this site is strictly forbidden without prior written permission from ParametricArchitecture.

ad blocker mark

AdBlocker Detected!

Help Us Keep Our Content Free

Your support helps us continue delivering high-quality resources at no cost to you.

We’ve detected that you are using an AdBlocker. We completely understand the need for a clean browsing experience, but ads help us keep this platform running and continue providing you with high-quality content at no cost.

If you enjoy our content, please consider disabling your AdBlocker or adding our site to your whitelist. Your support allows us to create more valuable articles, tutorials, and resources for you.

Thank you for being a part of our community!