heatherwick studio's winning nodeul island design is a sound-inspired public park

first look at soundscape by heatherwick studio in seoul

Heatherwick Studio has won a global competition to transform the uninhabited Nodeul island on the Han River in the center of Seoul into a new public park. Dubbed Soundscape, the proposal creates a trail of dramatic spaces on different levels that can host musical performances and artistic interventions in a biodiverse landscape. The design draws inspiration from Seoul’s mountainous terrain and the patterns created by soundwaves and was selected following a year-long series of exhibitions, consultations, and a public vote. ‘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,’ comments studio founder Thomas Heatherwick.

all renders © MIR, courtesy Heatherwick Studio

turning nodeul island into public park inspired by soundwaves

Bending and folding like soundwaves, the Soundscape public park will offer residents respite from the bustling city through a nature-infused waterfront at Nodeul Island. Stepping onto the island, visitors will move through a landscape that evolves as the tides and seasons change, met by an arts center and a public beach at ground level. Rather than demolishing the existing artificial landscape, Heatherwick Studio (see more here) seeks to strengthen the riverbanks with soft, naturalistic planting. The landscape will then rise to an event podium, which connects to a dramatic 1.2km skywalk. This trail will be formed of a series of small, floating islets held in the air, providing resting spaces with spectacular views across the island and the river back to Seoul.

Heatherwick studios winning design for Soundscape at Nodeul Island

a nature-infused waterfront in Seoul

‘We’ve been really intrigued by how new interventions can really bring Nodeul Island to life. Its not just about an exciting new aerial canopy, but developing a whole creative ecosystem, where spaces above and below the floating landscape are buzzing with activity,’ reflects Neil Hubbard, group leader and partner at Heatherwick Studio. Nodeul Island will be Heatherwick Studio’s first project in South Korea to go into construction. The studio will now start work with the Metropolitan Government on the following stages of design, and visitors should be able to enjoy the new Nodeul Island in 2027. In 2023, the studio curated a retrospective exhibition called Building Soulfulness at the Culture Station Seoul 284, attracting almost 60,000 visitors in just 60 days.

the landscape will rise to an event podium, which connects to a dramatic 1.2km skywalk