Georgian architect awarded for Seoul bridge project

A project by Georgian architect Ivane Ksnelashvili and his Lithuanian colleagues has been announced as the winning submission for a competition to build an environment-friendly bridge in Seoul, South Korea.

SLOPEWALK, a project by the Vilnius-based KILD team of four architects, was unveiled as winner of the 1st prize of the Yangjaegogae Eco Bridge Design Competition at the end of last month.

Commissioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the competition sought to gather submissions for a passage between the peaks of Mount Umyeon and Maljukgeori Parks.

The SLOPEWALK project was designed to replicate experience of walking on a hillside. Photo: KILD/ArchDaily.

The bridge was supposed to run over the Gyeongbu Expressway road while linking the two hills.

The KILD team, named after initials of the architects involved, submitted their project that featured a one-sided profile for the walkway that reduced wind effect and produced more exposure to sunlight.

The idea behind the design was to replicate the experience of walking on a hillside, with landscape view on the one side and the close proximity of the hill on the other. 

The landscape of the bridge is referential to the natural, informal, simplistic and unforced nature of Korean gardens", the team was quoted noting while describing the project to a leading architecture website ArchDaily.

The competition for the bridge sought to connect the two peaks over the Gyeongbu Expressway. Photo: KILD/ArchDaily.

Bringing together efforts of Ksnelashvili, Petras Isora, Ona Lozuraityte and Dominykas Daunys, the KILD team's project for the eco bridge features the length of 120 metres and area of 2,600 sq/m.

The areas connected by the bridge feature animal habitat and movement, meaning the architects ensured the peaks maintained areas of little to no human interruption of local wildlife.

Born in Sokhumi in northwestern Georgia's Abkhazia region, Ksnelashvili graduated from the Georgian Technical University in 2008 with a degree in architecture, before adding an MA degree from the Vilnius Technical University in 2010.

Ksnelashvili (far left) worked on the project with the KILD team. Photo: 15min.lt.

He joined the Architects of Invention team in his graduation year and worked on a number of projects designed by the group in Georgia, including the Lazika Municipality and Mushtaidi Park Development.

Ksnelashvili also worked on projects in European cities including the Kaunas Science Museum and Berlin Museum of 20th Century.

The Georgian also worked with the Vilnius based studio A2SM Architects and is founder of international platform CopyPaste for young artists.