June 1, 2021

Blue Line Park Brings the Rainbow to Busan’s Waterfront

Photography by Jae Young Park.

The second largest city in South Korea, Busan is known for its ultramodern urban center and beautiful waterfront. Blue Line Park, a linear greenway that redeveloped three miles of previously neglected coastline, bridges the gap between those two worlds. It literally connects them, too: A disused railway line running through the park has been reactivated, offering passenger train cars between the bustling Haeundae district and the tranquil Songjeong seaside resort.

An existing railway tunnel near the park’s entrance was transformed into a vibrant installation by Milanese firm Migliore + Servetto Architects, which oversaw the entire 37-acre project, from the pedestrian walkways to the wayfinding. Each of the tunnel’s 15 concrete arches back up to a hill on one side but face a pathway and the Sea of Japan on the other. Migliore + Servetto fronted the latter with Cor-Ten steel overhangs, painted the bases a spectrum of colors, and glazed openings with panes of colored glass. “The goal was to modify light and atmosphere,” Ico Migliore says. The colored glass allows train passengers to view the water through a continuous chromatic mutation; pedestrians on the path see the train as a range of frames in different colors. At night, the archways are lit by LEDs. “The experience,” Mara Servetto adds, “offers new and constantly changing perceptions.”

Photography by Jae Young Park.

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