Story: Outcropping Chosen for Garden Expo

THE CHALLENGE

In 2011, construction on a venue in South Korea broke ground in preparation for the 2013 Suncheon Garden Expo. From April to October of 2013, this massive event showcased gardens, wetlands, educational programs, green industry vendors, and more - all presented by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), an association founded in Switzerland in 1948.

The expo location included three sections: the 1,850,393-square-foot (564,000-square-meter) main expo site, featuring 10 country gardens and 60 themed gardens, the International Wetland Center, and an arboretum.

One challenge in creating such a massive infrastructure project included creating aesthetic entrances and exits to the main expo site. Each exit gate had a unique theme to express an artistic and meaningful message to visitors, including the illusion of the earth rising at one gate and falling away at another. To make this vision a reality, designers needed retaining walls to create the landscaping structures near the main expo building.

THE SOLUTION

Originally, natural stone was considered as a solution; however, to express the required artistic concept perfectly, designers chose the Outcropping Collection from local manufacturer INO Block as the best choice for the project. "We thought the blocks were natural stones at first glance," expo officials said. "Their texture and color are beautiful." In addition to aesthetics, the easy installation of the Outcropping Collection and the reasonable price also made it a great fit for this application.

The Outcropping Collection from Rosetta is a larger-scale wall solution that accurately replicates natural stone with an extremely high level of detail. With consistent dimensions that replicate the look and feel of nature, Rosetta is a great fit for projects that require the aesthetics of natural stone, but the durability and consistency of an architectural grade precast system.

In total, the project included 6,322 square feet (1927 square meters) of Rosetta Outcropping components, split between 20 separate walls. The tallest wall stood 15.7-feet (4.8 meters) high and the longest wall stretched 305 feet (93 meters).

The expo site is located near a coastal wetland, so one of the major challenges in the construction of this project was weak foundation soils. To deal with this challenge, a reinforced concrete base for the walls was a necessity. Many of the walls were also reinforced using geogrid.

Installation was completed over the course of 4.5 months and the installation crew consisted of four experienced installers and an excavator. "The pattern of installation is simple and repetitive, but it does not look that way. The whole wall looks irregular and natural," the installer said. "Outcropping is new product for us, so at first, it took some time to put the blocks together correctly; however, we quickly learned the process and it was easy to install."

PROJECT DETAILS

Project Name: Suncheon Bay Garden Expo 2013 Owner: Suncheon City Block Manufacturer: INO Block Wall Installer: Invorn Construction, Namhung Construction Design: INO Block Design Team Project Location: Suncheon City, South Korea Year: 2011-2012 Case: 27 - Suncheon