Songdo City is a new (constructing) city in Incheon region of South Korea. The whole project needs around US 40 billion dollar and sits on the 1500 acres of reclaimed land. The master plan is designed by Kohn Pederson Fox.
It is the world largest private construction project and is scheduled for completion by year 2014, ten years after construction began. The workers only had ten years to build the whole city from flat ground to green city of skyscrapers and high quality living.
There are three man made marvels listed in the project, first of all the Incheon International Airport. It is among the world best and greatest airport. It is very large and built on a man made island in the middle of sea.
Next, is the new Songdo International Convention Center. The most interesting part of it is it’s engineering breakthrough. The large curved roof that resembles the traditional roof form of Korean architecture had no column supporting it from below. The load has to be transferred to the two ends of the each roof joined together and then transferred to the 30m deep foundation. The structure will be the city center and is designed by famous architectural firm; Kohn Pederson Fox.
Next, is the new Incheon Bridge. This 12km bridge (8m above water) will be linking the airport directly to Songdo City. It will be the world fifth longest cable-stayed bridge when completed. The bridge pylon stands at a staggering height of 238m. This bridge undergoes various weather constraints like strong winds, low tides, strong mist, heavy rain, etc.
There will be a Central Park in the city, similar to the Central Park in New York City. The park will symbolize the high quality of living of residents in the green city. Artificial lake, river, gardens, pavilions, gazebos, etc are all available in the park.
There will be few soaring skyscrapers around the city center, residential and office towers above 60 floors high. Northeast Asia Trade Tower is now topped out at 70 floors, with a height of 305m, the tallest building in South Korea. It is designed by KPF too; a square plan with a triangular top for helicopter landing pad. Every buildings in the city ( around 500 to 600 ) will be LEED (Leadership in Engineering Environmental Design) certified, marking the status of a green city.
Notes:
1. The pictures and information shown here are not of my own and are found from the internet.
2. This post is directly from my own site: http://vincentloy.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/man-made-marvels-songdo-city/
3. For more information regarding Songdo City, you may check it from sources like books, internet, etc.