Urban Weave redefines Gwangnaru as an open urban sports hub
Urban Weave by ArchiWorkshop in collaboration with Siaplan is a proposal for the Gwangjang-dong multi-sports complex in Gwangnaru, Seoulredefining the historic role of the site as a river that flows into an open, multi-layered urban sports infrastructure that connects sports, landscape and everyday public life.
The Gwangnaru, historically a river of passage where movement, concentration and dispersion shaped urban activity, lies along the axis between Mount Achasan and the Han River. The Gwangjang-dong Multi-Sports Complex proposal reinterprets this situation as a new type sport infrastructure: an open 3D framework rather than a closed event-driven container. The Urban Weave extends across the site as a spatial system that remains active in everyday use, distributing sporting, cultural and community programs at multiple levels. Continuous audience roof The terrace opens to the Han River, while the fragmented existing facilities are reorganized into a single pedestrian network. Within this structure, the form functions as a spatial instrument that enables the distribution of the program rather than as a decorative layer.
all images courtesy of MIR ArchiWorkshop
ArchiWorkshop’s hybrid grid combines sports and public life
The project introduces the Urban Weave as a three-dimensional composition of horizontal slabs, terraces, circulation routes and multi-level program zones. At its core is a competitive arena for disciplines such as taekwondo and mixed martial arts, embedded in a wider political context. Rather than functioning as a stand-alone space, the arena is integrated into a continuous public structure that supports both scheduled events and everyday use.
Programs for professional sport, community activity, cultural use and public leisure are organized in a Hybrid Active Grid. Instead of stacking vertically, functions are interwoven horizontally and vertically, allowing traffic and activity to overlap throughout the structure. Through this system, the design team in ArchiWorkshop and Siaplan creates continuous spatial relationships between movement, program and landscape.
The roof functions as a key urban element, extending towards the surrounding park and opening as an accessible public terrace oriented towards the Han River. Beyond its structural role, it functions as an elevated urban terrain that supports circulation, gathering and rest. Beneath this roofscape, shaded public zones and porous edges connect the internal programs to the surrounding urban fabric. To the north, the proposal reconnects the existing fragmented facilities through a continuous pedestrian network. South and east, traffic extends to the river’s edge, creating a spatial connection between the city and the waterfront. The space functions as a transitional field between landscape and urban infrastructure.
Urban Weave reimagines the Gwangjang-dong multi-sport complex as an open urban sports infrastructure
Urban Weave is positioned as a reinterpretation of Gwangnaru’s historical role as a river crossing. Instead of addressing this condition through historical form, the work translates it into a contemporary spatial system that supports movement, exchange and public continuity. The architectural framework itself becomes the functional structure through which public life is organized, positioning the sports complex as a civic platform where city, landscape and daily activity remain constantly connected.
the project reinterprets the historical role of the site as a river passing through a spatial system of movement and exchange
the design replaces a closed arena typology with an open three-dimensional framework
The sports infrastructure extends into a continuous urban field
