The Urbanist – “Rebuilding Ukraine, Forensic Architecture and the Yongsan Garrison”

Host: Andrew Tuck (Monocle)
Date: July 10, 2025
Main Theme:
This episode explores the challenges and opportunities of post-war urban rebuilding, how architecture can expose evidence of war crimes, and the cultural memory embedded in Seoul’s transitioning Yongsan Garrison. The discussion weaves together stories of human resilience with technical and civic approaches to designing better, more inclusive cities in the face of trauma and transformation.

1. Rebuilding Ukraine: Out of Tragedy, a Chance to Reimagine (00:26–08:51)

Key Discussion Points

• Grassroots Rebuilding During Wartime

  • Ukrainian NGO Dobrobat, led by people like Andriy Lakshtanov, mobilizes untrained volunteers to repair damaged buildings and keep residents from becoming displaced.
  • Efforts rely on “pure human nature and willingness to help those who are affected by the war.”
    (Andriy Lakshtanov, 02:35)

• Leveraging International Collaboration

  • Margie O’Driscoll, an American architect and urbanist, brings Ukrainian planners to San Francisco for inspiration, drawing on the transformation of the Presidio (former military base turned park).
  • “We took them through the Presidio... and showed them how a military base could actually become a recreation center.”
    (Margie O’Driscoll, 05:46)

• Pursuing Sustainable & Inclusive Rebuilding

  • There’s a drive not only to restore, but to redesign more energy-efficient, climate-friendly buildings—insulation and solar power notably lacking in Ukrainian homes.
  • “We need to take the brightest minds in order to create a strategy for the future reconstruction.”
    (Andriy Lakshtanov, 03:23)
  • Damaged buildings and single home plots are being reconsidered as sites for denser, multi-family developments.
  • “You are creating opportunities for, say, eight families to live there, as opposed to the one family who lived there before.”
    (Margie O’Driscoll, 06:16)

• Community Buy-in & Design Competitions

  • O’Driscoll organizes a design competition to rebuild a shelled university in Irpin; winning plans (by Stantec) prioritize open, inclusive, barrier-free spaces accessible to all, especially veterans.
  • “The design leaves an open space between the university and a nearby park, so the space is accessible to both students and the community.”
    (Levi Bridges, 07:01)

• Challenges as War Continues

  • With ongoing hostilities and waning support from allies, priorities have shifted: “Unfortunately now construction is not the first priority. The biggest priority is stop the aggressor with anything you can.”
    (Andriy Lakshtanov, 08:28)
  • Long-term hope remains for post-war reconstruction that is both sustainable and socially progressive.

2. Forensic Architecture: Exposing Crimes Using the Built Environment (08:51–16:48)

Key Discussion Points

• What Is Forensic Architecture?

  • An investigative discipline blending architecture, human rights, and media, pioneered by British-Israeli architect Eyal Weizman and his lab at Goldsmiths College, London.
  • “We use architecture to confront power.”
    (Il Weizmann, 09:12)

• How the Investigations Work

  • Forensic Architecture reconstructs spaces where violence occurred via 3D modeling, integrating video, eyewitness testimony, and physical evidence (“splatter, bomb craters”).
  • “You build a 3D model... weave the multiplicity of data... start building narrative between those points.”
    (Alan Weedon, paraphrasing, 10:28)

• Situated Testimony and Memory

  • When physical evidence is scarce, witnesses use architectural models and sound cues to reconstruct their experiences—e.g., analyzing ceiling echoes to estimate cell sizes in Syria's Saydnaya prison.
  • “We were playing different echoes until we got it right... From the dimension of a flow tile, you get the dimension of a cell.”
    (Il Weizmann, 12:07)

• Making Evidence Public

  • Their findings are designed not just for court but for public dissemination—lectures, exhibitions, even media.
  • “To make evidence political, it has to be made public.”
    (Il Weizmann, 14:30)

• Case Study: Israel/Gaza Conflict

  • Forensic Architecture mapped Israel’s military strikes on Gaza since 2023, making granular destruction publicly accessible and submitting an 800+ page report to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
  • “A genocide case really is about intent... we built a special tool which allows you to see day by day all the incidents that we could collect.”
    (Il Weizmann, 15:13)

• The Larger Point

  • Forensic Architecture exemplifies how design disciplines can actively challenge power structures and reveal hidden truths through spatial analysis.
  • “Is there something in architecture that can actually be a force that confronts power, rather than surrenders to it?”
    (Il Weizmann, 16:43)

3. Yongsan Garrison: Seoul’s Urban Void and Living Archive (16:48–30:23)

Key Discussion Points

• Historical Overview

  • Yongsan Garrison built under Japanese rule, became a major US base after WWII, eventually surrounded by the expanding city of Seoul.
  • Transformation process began in the 1990s—some land already repurposed as public parks and the National Museum of Korea.

• The Base as a Black Hole/Narrative Void

  • For decades, the base was “physically present but physiologically invisible”—a walled void in the urban fabric.
  • “It was just a long gray wall... the true scale... couldn't be grasped from the ground.”
    (Prof. Daniel Oh, 19:17)

• Challenges of Reuse

  • 70%+ of structures were to be demolished for redevelopment, threatening historical memory.
  • Security and secrecy made planning difficult (“2,700 unnamed, unmarked building footprints”).

• Civilian Memory and the Yongsan Legacy Project

  • Oh and colleagues launched Yongsan Legacy, an oral history initiative, archiving personal memories, photos, and stories from workers, veterans, and families.
  • “Yongsan's real legacy isn't geopolitical, it's emotional and cultural... Half the people working inside the garrison were Korean civilians.”
    (Prof. Daniel Oh, 21:50)

• Unexpected Urban Preservation

  • The area remained insulated from Seoul’s frantic redevelopment, preserving traces of its layered past, unlike the city’s royal palaces rebuilt after war.
  • “It is the only place where you can still trace the physical layers of Seoul's 20th century transformation.”
    (Prof. Daniel Oh, 22:48)

• Echoes of Globalization and Local Transformation

  • The garrison imported American culture (music, sports, medicine), sparking Korean innovations—K-Pop, fashion, and even cosmetic surgery.
  • “Music, fashion, cosmetic surgery, heart surgery, baseball, golf... you name it. Somewhere someone will have a story that begins with a connection to Yongsan Garrison.”
    (Prof. Daniel Oh, 24:01)
  • Acknowledgment of social challenges: exploitation, cultural tension, environmental damage (e.g., toxic dumping incident inspiring Bong Joon Ho’s “The Host”).

• The Contemporary Park—Symbolism and Process

  • Former garrison areas now serve as public spaces (Black Hawk Village, National Museum grounds), yet much is still off-limits or under phased development.
  • Stakeholders include environmentalists, veterans, artists with diverse opinions, many of whom never saw the base’s interior.
  • “Because this is the first time a site like this is being converted into a national symbol, there are no clear precedents, only ambitions and hopes and anxieties.”
    (Prof. Daniel Oh, 28:53)

• Aim for a Living Archive

  • The master plan unfolds slowly, emphasizing preservation of narrative over creating a “blank slate.”
  • “He hopes this one will stand apart, not a blank slate, but as a living archive where history is preserved and remembered in all its complexity.”
    (Thomas Pinero, 30:19)

Standout Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “How might you take this terrible, terrible situation and actually build something that might create better outcomes for people?”
  — Margie O’Driscoll (00:18 / 03:57)

• “Architecture has something else to offer... Is there something in architecture that can actually be a force that confronts power rather than surrenders to it?”
  — Il Weizmann (15:58 / 16:43)

• “Yongsan's real legacy isn't geopolitical, it's emotional and cultural.”
  — Prof. Daniel Oh (21:50)

• “It is the only place where you can still trace the physical layers of Seoul's 20th century transformation from colonization, to war, to economic miracle beyond warfare.”
  — Prof. Daniel Oh (22:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Rebuilding Ukraine: 00:26–08:51
• Forensic Architecture: 08:51–16:48
• Yongsan Garrison Redevelopment: 16:48–30:23

Tone & Style:
Insightful, empathetic, and reflective—grounded in real voices and lived experience, balanced with expert analysis and civic optimism.

Conclusion

This episode of The Urbanist presents a sweeping look at how cities and citizens respond in the face of violence and upheaval. Whether in the hands of war volunteers in Ukraine, investigative architects in London, or cultural planners in Seoul, the built environment is revealed as both a witness and a tool—a medium for memory, justice, and the chance to build a better, fairer city.