Around 600 B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon made a garden for his wife Amitis of Media Kingdom in the midst of desert, noticing she got homesick longing for her country’s forest. It is said that the garden was a "hanging garden," that was built not on the ground but on a structure like terraced balconies. The garden was designed so well it felt like walking on regular ground. It is also said that water was drown from the far Euphrates River through water pipes, to continuously feed the plants in its garden. Probably all the advanced techniques of the time were used. Power of love created a garden hanging over the sky in the middle of the desert. It is regrettable that nothing remains, but still it is such a romantic story. This story became starting point.

In Seoul, ‘Hongdae district’ is quite an interesting place. Gone are the atmosphere of the art school, the historical feeling from the old facilities and the ambience of residential area, and the area has turned into a noisy and complex district all of a sudden. Fewer and fewer people reside around the area but the station is packed with visitors. People who visit Hongdae claim they are there for the culture, but desertification of any culture continues.

An area which were clustered with houses that had ample gardens, has turned into an area filled with cafes, bars, fashion stores and galleries. In the middle of the region was our site with a large garden. During the design process, we talked with the owner about this phenomenon and came up with the idea of Amyitis' garden, with balconies on each floor and a multi-level garden on the roof. Although there are variety of urban solutions, I thought it would be a good idea to start with planting trees and grass, the most common and logical method for desired repose.

The building with its exposed concrete finish, looks like a boulder. and this is associated with an image in which green grass and trees grow between crevices. Or it could be a metaphor of an oasis in Hongdae district, a place to take a breath among excessive commercial buildings.