▲ 'Garden of the Sun' in Jonggak Subway Station.(Photo provided by : Seoul City Hall).     © World Lighting News.

●Written by : So-Won Park / Journalistr.

Location : Jonggak Subway Station of Line 1, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea (Jongno Tower B2)
Owner : Seoul City Hall, Korea.
Participated in basic design service : Architect James Ramsey (Rad Studios, USA)
Participated in the design and construction of photovoltaic mining technology : Sun Portal
Photo provided by : Seoul City Hall

The underground walkway to the north of Jonggak Subway Station (Line 1) was reborn as an underground garden in the city by applying innovative natural light control technology.

Seoul City established the Jongga Station Sun Garden on the underground walkway that runs from Jonggak Station on the second basement floor of Jongno Tower and opened it to the citizens on December 13, 2019.

Natural light control technology is an innovative technology that collects sunlight from the ground through a remote condenser to high density and passes it through a specially manufactured lens to the underground space with minimal loss.

The light collecting unit installed on the ground tracks the sun's trajectory through the program to efficiently collect the sunlight, and can directly see the sunlight transmitted to the transparent column.

Eight condensers are installed on the ground, and natural light control technology is used to transmit natural sunlight to the ground, whereby 37 different plants, including citrus trees, kumquat trees and lemon trees, can grow. Created a garden.

In addition to simple green spaces, stairs have been remodeled to create a multi-purpose cultural space where various lectures and small performances can be held.In particular, there are also spaces to support youth start-ups. Will be used as a space to provide.

Regardless of the external weather conditions such as cold waves and fine dust, you can feel the sunlight as it is in the basement, and when the weather is cloudy, it is automatically switched to the LED lights to ensure constant illumination regardless of the external weather.
Seoul has been exploring ways to give new functions to urban idle spaces in terms of urban regeneration.In addition, Seoul Garden 7017, which transformed old overpasses into public gardens, has underground underground spaces in Jonggak Station's underground idle space in 2018. The company decided to create a new building, and after a year of construction, it was opened on December 13.

The project also involved architect James Ramsey (Rad Studio), who is pursuing the Loline project, an underground space regeneration project in New York, USA, and the design and construction process of Sun Portal, a joint venture company that is in charge of solar light mining technology. Participated in.

Meanwhile, the city of Seoul selected the Jonggak Station's Sun Garden as its official name through a civic contest on the underground space of Jonggak Station. A total of 1139 citizens participated in the civil contest, which was held from August 13 to September 11, and 2,750 names were proposed.

The opening ceremony was attended by Won-Soon Park, Mayor of Seoul City, Won-Cheol Shin, chairman of the Seoul City Council, and Jongno-gu Officer Young-Jong Kim, and held a photovoltaic ceremony and held hands-on events such as selling handmade leather goods and daily necessities produced by young people.

Mayor Park said, “The space that was empty without any special use, the place where people only stayed as a passage, was transformed into a space where trees grew and people stayed by drawing ground sunlight through innovative technology.” "The Jonggak Station Sun Garden is a test bed for innovative technologies and a vision for reclaiming underground idle spaces in Seoul.

picture explanation :

1. The interior of Jonggak Station Sun Garden.
2. The interior of Jonggak Station Sun Garden.
3. The interior of Jonggak Station Sun Garden.
4. The condenser of the Jonggak Station Sun Garden.