"Hidden Treasures" - Honorable mention entry by Stefano Corbo for Mapo Oil Reserve Base competition

We're happy to present "Hidden Treasures - Seoul Science Park" by Stefano Corbo, an architect and associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Alghero, Italy. In addition to his many accomplishments — writing for international publications, starting his own firm, being a current Ph.D candidate at ETSAM Madrid, and winning other competition awards — Corbo recently received an Honorable Mention for his proposal in the Mapo Oil Reserve Base competition we previously featured.

Without disturbing the natural surroundings of the reservation base, "Hidden Treasures" transforms the abandoned oil tanks into a scientific educational center that includes gathering areas for public programs and activities, a scientific research and multimedia library, exhibition halls, a new administration building, and more.

In summation, "Hidden Treasures" is described as a space for people to learn and to share their love of science.

Below are some images and the project details we received from Corbo.

Project description:

"HIDDEN TREASURES is an eco-friendly proposal aimed to reconvert the abandoned area of Mapo Oil Reserve Base into a public-didactic park, where people can gather and share their love for Science. Two are the main goals of HIDDEN TREASURES: from one hand, to connect the competition site with the surrounding area, according to a visual and perceptive continuity; from the other hand, to insert a new program of activities based on the re-use of the existing tanks. Mimesis is the key word to understand the proposal: as the existing tanks covered and wrapped by the nature, HIDDEN TREASURES tries to be a project made of invisible elements, hidden through vegetation, and able to generate new urban dynamics."

"PROGRAM AND NEW CONTENTS

So, the first step was to redesign the parking area and the green spaces, in order to build a very harmonic and sinuous space able to host the Science Park. From a perceptive point of view, there is no fracture with the existing green areas, with its vegetation and its hills.

HIDDEN TREASURES aims to preserve this morphological condition and to insert into it a respectful proposal. New artificial hills will characterize the Science Park. Visitors will be guided through the vegetation thanks to the use of very ephemeral and de-materialized ramps, which work also as distributive elements for the program of the Science Park. All the new functions are totally or partially interred, and are not visible from outside. So visitors can only imagine what happens inside but everything is hidden by artificial hills and the new vegetation.

In a way this operation follows what happens for the oil tanks.: all of them are surrounded by nature, wrapped by vegetation. They are not perceivable from outside. That’s why HIDDEN TREASURE wants to work in continuity with what already exists."

"The new Science Park is based on didactic activities and other functions open to the citizens. All of them are inserted in a wider green area that include the new park and the existing green area where the tanks are located. The current Management Building, a nice brick building, will be converted into the INFO-CENTER Of the Science Park. Here visitors can also find a bookshop, a wardrobe, and can buy their tickets."

"Once left the reused building, visitors will be guided through the park thanks to such very transparent ramps. Here, some thematic paths will introduce topics, facts and figures related to Science. Among hills, fountains, and contemporary art, new functions are located:

• Pavilion for Temporary Exhibitions;
• Auditorium for 300 people;
• Scientific Library for research and investigations;
• Mediatheque, where to find multimedia and audio-visual materials related to Science;
• Administration Area.
• Exhibition Halls, Museum Activities."

"The main route will guide the visitor through the 5 tanks. They are reconverted into exhibition halls and new spaces for museum activities. The exterior aspect, hidden from the exterior, is totally preserved. Inside, everything is conserved and equipped to host new functions."

"REUSE AND RECYCLE

The operation of reuse and recycle of the existing elements is double, because is focused both on architecture and on nature. Indeed, most part of the existing building will be restored and re-used: the 5 tanks will become exhibition halls; the Management Building will turn into the Gate of the Park, and the current Snowplow Garage will work as a public covered space where to have a rest. At the same time, the artificial hills characterizing the project and hiding the new functions of the Park, are realized thanks to the excavation material extracted to build the interred buildings. Instead of transporting this material everywhere else, it will be reused to shape the artificial hills. So it’s possible to save money and optimize time!"

"CONFIGURATION: A bioclimatic approach

All the architectonic interventions consist of glazed boxes, with steel beams and pillars, and nothing else. The guiding light of the intervention is a bioclimatic approach: everything is designed to save money, and optimize energy. The heating system of the new volumes will be through radiant floorings, and the double glass will allow not to waste heat. In this way, in the buildings it will be possible to control pressure, temperature and humidity any time, according to the different seasons and the different needs of each activity."

"Regarding the use of the materials for the park, permeability was the main concept: every design effort was made to reduce the amount of impermeable surface, and use, where possible, wood and grass to allow transpiration and absorption of the ground."

All images courtesy of Stefano Corbo.