AECOM wins international competition with vision for Seoul Grand Park

A team led by AECOM has won an international competition for a concept design and feasibility study for Seoul Grand Park in Korea. The winning entry is called Gaia: The Living World and envisions an integrated entertainment and educational experience that revitalizes the urban realm and showcases Korean heritage.

"The new Seoul Grand Park vision reinforces the park's dual commitment to the living environment and entertainment," said Taewook Cha, the project design director from AECOM's New York City Design + Planning studio. "The Living World aspires to be a place of excitement and reflection, encounter and education, where the lines between zoo and theme park disappear in a celebration of ecosystems, culture and history."

The AECOM-led team included Thinkwell Design & Production and Bernard Harrison & Friends, as well as  local firms Ga-One Landscape Design and Group Han Associates, as well as bringing together master planners, economists, architects, zoo designers, themed-content developers and landscape architects. With Jon Shinkfield as design principal, the competition entry was a collaboration between AECOM design studios in New York City, Melbourne, Orange and Los Angeles, and included contributions from AECOM’s Design + Planning, Architecture, and Economics practices. The proposal opens the entire lakefront for community use, reconnecting the city to the waterfront and breaking down the traditional segregated organizational structure of visitor attractions and programming.

The new design combines conventionally separate experiences into one. Lush botanical displays, exotic animal exhibits, and exciting rides are woven together to provide a comprehensive, informed experience of our Living World. The plan proposes new attractions, including Seoul Walk and Lakeside Park, a Night Safari at the Great Savanna, Korean Forest, Jungle Cruise, and an entry Winter Garden complete with a giant waterfall. Read this description of a possible day at The Living World.

"AECOM has extensive experience with theme parks, including planning and design services for the Universal Studios Island of Adventure Theme Park in Florida, Disney's California Adventure Park in Anaheim and Disneyland Paris as well as economic analysis for the Busch Entertainment Parks, Universal Studios in Singapore and San Diego Zoo," noted Abe Chorbajian, the project director for Seoul Grand Park and leader of the Leisure and Cultural practice for Planning, Design + Development at AECOM, based in Los Angeles. AECOM's connection to the site extends to its former companies EDAW, which developed the original theme park plan in the 1980's, and ERA, who conducted the economic feasibility study of the original Seoul Grand Park in the late 1970's and a revitalization program for the Seoul Zoo in 2001.

Howard Altman, Senior Vice President with AECOM's Design + Planning practice, directed the original design and participated in the current competition. "This is a unique opportunity to re-think Seoul Grand Park, taking amusement and zoo attractions into a new paradigm of leisure, entertainment and learning for the future."

Laurie-Anne Haller