Crystal Hub

EPFL, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Faculté Environnement, Naturel, Architectural et Construit (ENAC), Section d'architecture (SAR), Lausanne

Project idea

The troubles of office work leaves a lackluster aftertaste within the minds of the new workers unaccustomed to the practices of the previous generation. From the tedious morning commute, to the cold, uniform internal lighting, a fresh breath brought forth by an exceptional situation would, in many cases, be a welcoming change. In this sense, we sought to bring the outside to the inherently internal morphology of Seoul's pedestrian tunnel Euljiro.

Project description

The tunnel reaches great depths. Our group was given the task of working on a portion of the tunnel, our portion being that of the Euljiro-4-ga metro stop area. While the west-east metro is two storeys underground, the northbound/southbound metro is five storeys underneath the surface. Basing our work on the programmatic plurality of the hub, the ground was opened up, introducing an exterior within the tunnel, and bringing in natural lighting. The westbound/eastbound metro becomes a tram line, connecting seamlessly with the workspaces and various shops, cafés, etc, cutting down commute times. The total area was also expanded to accommodate significantly more than what the volume of a tunnel has to offer.

Technical information

One master plan, as well as 4 diagrammatic plans were made, along with two perspective sections, a mass plan, three 3D renders, and various model photos.

Co-authors

Alexandre Bron