Convergent Flux: Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in Korea

Convergent Flux illustrates the contemporary architectural and urban planning developments in South Korea in the context of the country's considerable urban density. In recent years South Korea, which long stood in the shadow of the superpowers Japan and China, has surged in economic terms. That said, industrialization and the population explosion connected with it have created enormous challenges for the country at the interface between globalization and cultural identity. Some 10.5 million inhabitants live in the center of the capital Seoul, while the metropolitan area includes around 25 million residents making it the second largest conurbation in the world after Tokyo. The result is high urban density, which spells an enormous demand for the more efficient use of space and encourages verticalization in architecture. The publication outlines the current developments in South Korean architecture, urban development and landscape architecture by examining 32 projects in detail. An in-depth view of contemporary South Korean architecture is given by five essays that address topics such as the fusion of tradition and the modern, the re-defining of so-called "social spaces" and the country's special topographical situation. The authors are both architects, trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.