SEOUL DESIGN AWARD

The Medellín River Park project was launched to improve the infrastructure of the national highway that runs through the city and parallel to the river. Medellín’s city hall focused on this project as not only a matter of engineering but a location that can combine a highway with a public space to recover the city’s waterfront.

The idea for the project is 50 years old. In the 1950s, the river was turned into a canal to enable future urban development. This also eliminated flooding.

This, however, initially resulted in armed conflict between the 1.2 million citizens on the east side and 1.2 million citizens on the west. Travel between east and west could only be done by car- or bus-only roads. There was no bridge especially for pedestrians.

This project was the brainchild of former mayor Anibal Gaviria (2012-2015). It changed Medellin residents’ long-held perception of the river as a forgotten relic to a place that offers good memories. The river area was turned into something that goes far beyond a transportation corridor: a public attraction that reminds visitors of the importance of nature and its conservation.

The project aims to revive the river (for the benefit of residents and the flora/fauna) as well as offer a place for residents on both sides to meet and rebuild severed relations.

Various kinds of information on the local communities was collected during the development process. After it was found that each district has different social problems, the project was redesigned so that it builds identity while responding to problems related to the environment and social communities. After the construction of the park in 2019, the project is currently being operated in cooperation with public enterprises so that the next step can be both publicly minded and sustainable.