Tracking the morphology of building types and site planning layouts within Seoul’s reconstructed and redeveloped apartment complexes

ABSTRACT Urban residential redevelopment projects in Seoul, South Korea gradually replaced the deteriorating low-rise residential fabrics with high-rise, high-density apartment complexes. Despite flat-type being the dominant style for apartment buildings, compact tower-type buildings popularised in the late 1990s to maximise density in terms of floor area ratio, ensure open green spaces and provide favourable views. However, as tower-type buildings possessed several deficiencies, such as non-southern orientation, difficulties in cross-ventilation, and comparatively higher construction costs, a compromise emerged in the 2000s. In succession, various morphologically modified and intentionally deformed buildings and their accompanying site planning configurations emerged to overcome the shortcomings of the newly built high-rise apartment complexes. This study aims to (1) track the evolving apartment building morphology and (2) identify different layout configurations in accordance with the transformed building types, specifically those constructed in redeveloped and reconstructed housing projects. Diverse building modification and relevant arrangement strategies are primarily oriented to the internal residents’ interests, while the public dimension outside the complex is inconspicuously underestimated. Thus, it is crucial to further perceive and promote awareness of the public space in ways that counterbalance the dominantly privatized pedestrian environment and neighbourhood-scape based on systematic comprehension of apartment buildings and their layout morphologies.