The lack of ample natural settings in Seoul, Korea’s urban core isn’t just an aesthetic misstep: it’s one, five architecture graduate students from Seoul argue, that has cost many their lives.

The students, Ham Seung Pyo, Lee Doo Nam, Jeong Dae Kyo, Ngo Pham Thu Trang and Nguyen Thanh Vinh are concerned with the high rate of suicide amongst the elderly population in bustling Seoul, and cite the lack of safe access to pleasant rural scenery outside of the city as a contributing factor to the disturbing trend. They seek, then, to bring nature and relaxation the older populations stuck inside the city, by creating an opening, inviting green space for everyone to enjoy. They have designed a Seoul skyscraper that is solely devoted to nature and recreation.

To fit so much green space in a packed city is a difficult task, so the group proposes orienting it vertically. The building will be the same size as Yeouido Park, one of the city’s most popular and central open urban spaces, but that total mass will be achieved by chopping up the size of the park into 60 segments and then stacking them into skyscraper form.

To further connect the building with nature and relieve the stereotype of skyscrapers as cold, metal masses, the building’s color scheme will change and blend with the changing seasons. Technically, the building is designed to support green life through “light pipes” that can direct sunlight from the outside to the middle of the building. Rainwater is recycled to feed the greenery, and the air is naturally purified through the ample vegetation.

With their proposal, the students hope to take Seoul’s skyscraper future from a means to boast wealth to a form that can benefit all segments of the population, including those who need the access to nature most.