Marina and Business Center at Busan Port
Architects and Team
Sol89. María González & Juanjo López de la Cruz + Woodrock Architects
Lead Coordinating Architect in Sol89
Jongjin Lee
Collaborators
Cristobal Galocha, Elena González, Álvaro Valverde, architects en Sol89; Badalibrero, inphographies; Seongujo Research Institute Co. Ltd, estructure; Samwoo M&C Co. Ltd, mecanic ing.; Oficina Técnica Woorim Electric 5F, electric ing.; Compañía Binet Ltd, telecom ing.; Compañía de ingeniería Hyogwang Ltd, civil ing.; Grupo de diseño paisajístico AE, landscape
Client
Busan Metropolitan City Government
Construction Company
Taemin Co. Ltd., D&C Constructor Co. Ltd. and Seodo General Construction Co.Ltd.
Photography
Construction Company
A building like the Marina Business Center (MBC), located at the Port of Busan (the most important in South Korea, traditionally linked to trade with North America and Japan), must respond to two landscapes: the cityscape, where space is constructed through shadows, and the seascape, that of the tides, the distant gaze, the decks and masts, the sea breeze and the light. The MBC can thus be understood as a space of transit between land and sea, the place where the city meets the horizon.
The urban plan projected in this area implies the conquest of port lands for the citizens, where the presence of large-scale machinery and the transit of goods predominate in the landscape. It is therefore necessary to first create a public space for the citizens, a welcoming place that adjusts the grand scale of the port to the scale of the people. For this, the proposal for the MBC suggests the creation of a public street that meets the citizens where the promenade ends. At this point, the proposed building splits in two, giving rise to a sinuous passage, shaded and with vegetation, protected by the building, which ascends to culminate in a square open to the sea and Yeomgdon Island. This interior passage thus traces the line that connects the mountains of Yeongdoncon and Huangyeong-San, which emerges behind looking towards the horizon, located at the crossroads between these two mountains and those of Igidae and Eomgwang-San.
The split created by the building’s entrance passage allows differentiating the access routes at two different levels: elevated for the building users and at the port level of the pontoons for the boats, thus avoiding dangerous crossings between machines and people. Similarly, the intermediate passage differentiates the program on the floor in its two natural demanded areas: the business center open to the pontoons, where the sales area, offices, workrooms, and auditoriums are located, and on the other side of the path, the repair shop, oriented towards the more industrial area and accessed by boats through the auxiliary rear street.
