Concept
The key aim of this proposal is to balance high-density development and the existing public park. Park Canopy enhances the green space with its natural potential.

Eight major mountains that have shaped the cityscape for centuries are the cornerstone of the Seoul identity. Respectfully, Park Canopy holds the existing mountain park as the icon of this development, maximising the new intervention to the north side. This way the building becomes a background to the existing mountain, exposing life in the park as an everyday spectacle. Together it proposes a diverse and contemporary theatrical environment and opens up panoramic views to the wider urban surroundings.

Structure
The key design aspiration for the building structure is to maximise floor to ceiling heights and provide flexibility for under-slab building services distribution. These have been achieved by considering structural framing options that minimise the structural floor depth. Flexibility is provided by removing vertical beams and having a flat soffit, which will allow the building services engineer to distribute freely in both horizontal directions, this being an important criteria for the theatre building.

Frame development
The current preference is for a composite steel-framed building, which sits on top of a reinforced concrete substructure partially covered by soil. The selected floor solution is reinforced concrete floors on permanent metal decking, designed compositely with asymmetric steel beams. The overall depth of this solution is much shallower than a standard steel frame. Also, the steel frame construction is quick compared with other forms of construction. The building has several cantilevered sections of floor that are located along the south face. The cantilevers are supported using a combination of back-spans and bracing.

The structure below the ground floor (main lobby) is primarily made of in-situ reinforced concrete walls, slabs and columns. The column layout has been developed to maximise the space of the ‘black box’ and the amount of available car parking spaces.