[Exclusive] Harim’s West-Facing Rental Housing Triggers 66 Modification Requests for Yangjae Logistics Complex

[10 Years of Stalemate in Urban Logistics] ③
Inside Seoul City’s Architectural Committee Deliberation Report
Harim Group’s Profit-Generating Project Faces Comprehensive Redesign

The “Yangjae Urban High-tech Logistics Complex” (Yangjae Logistics Complex) development project, which is being promoted by Harim Group, received requests for changes on 66 items during the Seoul City architectural review process. This review is a pre-approval procedure in which experts comprehensively evaluate building layout, landscape, structural safety, environment, and more in order to enhance urban aesthetics and public value. Such a large number of revision requests is considered unusual. The conflict between the two sides over the logistics complex’s permits has now dragged on for a decade.

According to The Asia Business Daily’s investigation as of May 8, the Seoul Architectural Committee decided on a “re-deliberation resolution” for the Yangjae Logistics Complex development project submitted by Harim Industry on March 17. A re-deliberation resolution is adopted when the review identifies issues that require a significant redesign. Harim Industry must revise the pointed-out items, incorporate them into the construction plan, and then undergo another review.

Harim Industry, a subsidiary of Harim Holdings, is pursuing the creation of a large-scale complex in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, combining advanced logistics facilities, work and commercial spaces, and residential facilities (998 apartment units and 972 officetels). The estimated project cost alone amounts to 6.8 trillion won.

Reconstruction of the floor plan for Yangjae Urban High-Tech Logistics Complex submitted by Harim Industry. Photo by Lee Youngwoo, The Asia Business Daily.

According to the review resolution, the committee pointed out improvements throughout the overall design, from construction to landscaping, for the project plan submitted by Harim Industry.

In particular, the committee ordered revisions to the layout of rental housing, which Harim Industry offered as a public contribution, because these units were concentrated facing west. Since the Yangjae Logistics Complex is a government public development project, about 25% of the total land value must be provided as a public contribution. Harim Industry included a public contribution of 280.4 billion won for the Gyeongbu arterial road redevelopment project and other items, as well as 100 billion won for research and development (R&D) facilities, and 4.6 billion won for 45 public rental housing units (84㎡ each) as part of its public contribution. However, these rental units were all oriented to the west. West-facing units benefit from afternoon sunlight, which is advantageous for heating in winter, but they have the drawback of increased indoor temperatures during summer.

The committee also requested a review and modification of the excessive building mass (the overall bulk and shape of the building), criticizing the failure to consider the surrounding urban context and scale. The committee stated, “The podium (the low-rise base of the building) is formed at a height of 17 stories, and long barrier-like structures of 250 to 300 meters have been applied to all four sides of the site. We request a redesign so that the upper high-rise mass and residential buildings do not become excessively massive.”

To address these issues, the committee called for the removal of the sky bridge, adjustment of the number of residential buildings, and segmentation of the podium. In addition, it recommended deleting the terrace houses, noting that they lack functional terraces and create permanent shadowed areas with no sunlight throughout the day.

Aerial view of Yangjae Urban High-tech Logistics Complex. Provided by Seoul City.

Furthermore, the committee instructed that residential parking garages, which currently cannot accommodate turning, should be designed as rotary-type garages. It also pointed out that the current plans for the emergency stairwells in the residential building core do not include windows to the outside, meaning that smoke exhaust in the event of a fire would rely entirely on mechanical smoke control systems. The committee requested that Harim Industry explore ways to install external windows.

Harim Industry plans to fund more than half (56%) of the total 6.8 trillion won project cost through sales revenue of 3.8694 trillion won, but a complete redesign of the residential facilities, which are central to the project’s profitability, has now become unavoidable.

DA Group Engineering & Architects, the firm responsible for the Yangjae Logistics Complex design, recently submitted revised and supplementary drawings to the Seocho District Office. However, since the main department in charge, the Seoul City Architectural Planning Division, must first review and confirm the revisions before referring them to the committee, there is a strong possibility that the committee’s review will not take place immediately.

Even if the project passes the architectural review, full-scale construction can only begin after obtaining approval from the Seocho District Office and undergoing Seoul City’s implementation, structural, and excavation reviews. There is also a possibility that any of these reviews may result in another re-deliberation decision.

Industry sources commented that it is rare for a project to receive instructions for revisions or supplementation on around 60 items. An industry official remarked, “When a project that has already received a re-deliberation decision is submitted for review again, multiple rounds of revision and supplementation are inevitable, so it may be difficult for construction to begin within this year.”

A Harim Group representative stated, “The Yangjae Logistics Complex is a project that will become a new landmark for Seoul. We are not pursuing it for development profits. We are proceeding with the utmost caution to improve the project’s quality and will do our best to complete it as soon as possible.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.