The amazing car-free ’10-minute city’ in South Korea where everything can be reached by foot

Renderings have been released of an incredible new ’10-minute city’, where ‘all the conveniences of the city’ will be within a 10-minute stroll from residents’ homes.

Titled ‘Project H1’, the 504,000-square-metre (5.4million square ft) development will be based near the mountains in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, and will be completely car-free.

The miniature metropolis – with ‘spacious streets and nature at your doorstep’ – will encompass residential towers, parks, a hotel, a cinema, a library and co-working offices. Wellness facilities such as a running track, climbing walls and swimming pools and health services will also be within walking distance.

A rendering of the new ’10-minute city’, where ‘all the conveniences of the city’ will be within a 10-minute stroll from residents’ homes

This ‘smart city’ will include a mall, which will be complete with a community centre and a kindergarten.

There will also be communal spaces for discussion ‘salons’ and spaces for pop-up events dotted throughout.

The lower levels of the neighbourhood’s eight residential towers will be designated for commercial, educational and cultural activities.

Prospective residents will get the chance to live in ‘flexible, compact’ apartments of different sizes and price ranges.

Each apartment will have a balcony with space for pots and planters, and residents will be encouraged to grow their own herbs and plants.

Titled 'Project H1', the 504,000-square-metre (5.4million square ft) development will be based near the mountains in South Korea 's capital, Seoul

Titled ‘Project H1’, the 504,000-square-metre (5.4million square ft) development will be based near the mountains in South Korea ‘s capital, Seoul 

The above rendering shows a jogger hitting an indoor running track that has been built on a mezzanine overlooking a pool

The above rendering shows a jogger hitting an indoor running track that has been built on a mezzanine overlooking a pool

The layout aims to combat loneliness by incorporating ‘shared spaces and joint facilities’ on each floor. Roof gardens have been worked into the design at the summit of these towers.

Many of the Project H1 office spaces will be housed in the Town Plaza, which will feature a ‘sky balcony’ and roof terraces.

Workers can also toil away in an ‘officetel’ – a concept that combines the design features of ‘a house, a hotel and an office’.

A bird's-eye view of the city, with trees and green spaces bordering the walkways between buildings

A bird’s-eye view of the city, with trees and green spaces bordering the walkways between buildings

Hyundai Development Company and Dutch architectural practice Unstudio are behind the development, which will be built on an old industrial site.

One rendering shows a jogger hitting an indoor running track that has been built on a mezzanine overlooking a pool.

Another looks down on the compact city, with trees and green spaces bordering the walkways between buildings.

People are scattered throughout the drawings, eating at outdoor tables and strolling between residential and commercial buildings.

The miniature metropolis will encompass residential towers, parks, a hotel, a cinema, a library and co-working offices

The miniature metropolis will encompass residential towers, parks, a hotel, a cinema, a library and co-working offices

The development will be connected to Seoul via an underground station, and residents will be encouraged to walk and cycle in the pedestrian-friendly city.

Though it’s car-free, residents will be able to park their vehicles in underground car parks.

Elsewhere in the development, there will be facilities for hydroponics – which involves growing plants without soil – and urban farming.

Sustainability will play a big role in the development’s layout – a water filtration system will be used to store rainwater and the area’s waste will be used to develop compost for the urban farms.

Hyundai Development Company and Dutch architectural practice Unstudio are behind the development

Hyundai Development Company and Dutch architectural practice Unstudio are behind the development

A representative for Unstudio told MailOnline that the project is currently going through planning procedures, with no date set for breaking ground.

In a statement, Unstudio’s co-founder, Ben van Berkel, says: ‘For the H1 masterplan we have aimed to create the ultimate contemporary 10-minute city, where the daily life experience of the residents is the top priority.

‘We do this through the inclusion of a rich density of uplifting, curated on-site experiences that provide an extensive range of options for how they can spend their living, working and leisure time, thereby also saving them the time needed to travel elsewhere in the city – because, with time that is saved, more time is created.’

It’s not an entirely new concept – French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno came up with the idea for a ’15-Minute City’ in 2016.

For more information visit unstudio.com/en.