Old shabby water tower in Seoul transforms to 'Rain Veil'

“Rain Veil” by Ned Kahn is seen in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul, on July 11. (Park Yuna/The Korea Herald)

Anyone familiar with the Songpa-gu neighborhood of southern Seoul may be aware of the tall old water purification tower that has been left unused for the past 20 years. The 32-meter eyesore has long been a topic of discussion as to whether it should be demolished or not.

The water purification tower, built in 1986, once held 600 tons of water daily for purification, however, it ceased operations in early 2004 following changes in the water supply system. Now the tower has gained new life as the art piece “Rain Veil” by American environmental artist Ned Kahn.

The water purification tower was built in 1986 in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul. (Songpa-gu District Office)

“It was a cutting-edge water purifying system at the time,” Park Jae-eun, manager of the design industry division of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, told The Korea Herald on July 11, showing the image of what is now the sole water purification tower remaining in the city.

“We decided to keep it as it has a historic meaning and figured people in the neighborhood have memories about the tower. A resident told me that she remembers seeing the old tower whenever she went to Garak Market (located next to the tower) with her mom,” Park said.

Visitors can walk inside around the existing water tower as part of “Rain Veil” by Ned Kahn. (Park Yuna/The Korea Herald)

The city of Seoul and district of Songpa-gu have transformed the abandoned water tower and its surrounding 6,600-square-meter plot of land into a small park. Kahn was announced as the winner of an international competition to gather ideas in August last year, and his work was unveiled in May.

The artwork consists of some 330,000 pieces of Durabio ― an eco-friendly, plant-derived material used as a glass substitute ― covering the tower. Each diamond-shaped Durabio piece moves to the wind or rain. In sunny weather, it reflects sunlight. Surrounding the tower is a small pond with four reflecting lights at night.

“For the last 20 years, I have developed a body of work inspired by atmospheric physics, geology, astronomy and fluid motion. I strive to create artworks that enable viewers to observe and interact with natural processes,” Kahn wrote in the statement about his art.

Inside the tower is another work produced with 100 Seoulites titled “Time of the Sea,” created of six different hues of blue categorized depending on the depth of the sea level. The pieces are stacked to a height of 7 meters.

The Seoul city government initiated the public art project under the theme of “Seoul Is Museum,” which began in 2016. Another part of the project was “Hongje Yuyeon,” which turned the abandoned underground area of the Yujinsang-ga building along the Hongje Stream into a new type of public art using immaterial properties such as light, sound and technology.

By Park Yuna(yunapark@heraldcorp.com)