Recent government policies aimed at revitalizing marine tourism and improving accessibility to island regions have expanded the role of the coastal passenger terminal. Traditionally limited to passenger transportation functions, the coastal passenger ...
Recent government policies aimed at revitalizing marine tourism and improving accessibility to island regions have expanded the role of the coastal passenger terminal. Traditionally limited to passenger transportation functions, the coastal passenger terminal is now increasingly required to serve as a regional transportation hub and public infrastructure, in which local connectivity with surrounding communities becomes critical. However, coastal passenger terminals in Korea reveal structural limitations in both facilities and operations, and in some cases have been closed due to the financial burden of maintenance under single-function operation. As a result, the need for a multi-functional coastal passenger terminal has emerged, yet architectural planning research focusing on coastal passenger terminals remains limited. Accordingly, this study aims to present the potential for the coastal passenger terminal to function as regional public infrastructure mediating mobility among the city, the coast, and islands, and to propose multi-functional strategies as an integrated spatial system that simultaneously enhances passenger-handling efficiency and the publicness of everyday local life through architectural planning and a design proposal. To achieve this, the study reviews the concept and role of coastal passenger terminals and examines the current domestic conditions. Based on an analysis of prior studies, an analytical framework is established comprising spatial organization, circulation systems, exterior space planning, and local connectivity. Using this framework, domestic and international multi-functional cases—Yokohama International Passenger Terminal, Naoshima Ferry Terminal, Stockholm Ferry Terminal, Seattle Ferry Terminal, and Ropax Ferry Terminal—are analyzed. The analysis derives the following planning principles: (1) passenger functions and multi-functional programs should be separated while ensuring buffering and mediation through shared spaces; (2) safety should be secured through three-dimensional separation of circulation while reinforcing continuity of user experience; (3) publicness should be ensured through spatial continuity between waterfront and inland areas and through organic connections between interior and exterior spaces; and (4) program composition reflecting local characteristics and strengthened physical and visual connections with the surrounding context are necessary to enhance local connectivity. Based on these principles, this study proposes a design plan for the Incheon Port Coastal Passenger Terminal as the project site. Since its opening in 1995, the facility has undergone deterioration, and in consideration of local conditions characterized by insufficient basic living infrastructure, the proposal incorporates multi-functional programs such as a library, a senior welfare facility, a multipurpose hall, and tenant office spaces. The specific strategies are as follows. First, in the site planning, the proposal adopts a distributed building composition and establishes a central shared space (the main waiting hall) as a mediating zone to secure connections between functions; an atrium is introduced into the buffer zone to strengthen spatial legibility and the quality of stay. Multi-functional programs are hierarchically arranged according to waterfront characteristics, degree of publicness, and patterns of use. Second, in circulation planning, functional cores are separated to secure independence, while selective intersections among users are enabled within key shared spaces such as the waiting hall to promote spatial vitality. Third, in exterior space planning, continuity from inland to waterfront is ensured in relation to adjacent sites, and during idle periods determined by sailing schedules, the waiting area for embarkation is opened to local residents to increase everyday usability. Fourth, in terms of local connectivity, visual and physical accessibility within the urban context is reinforced, and connections with the surrounding area are promoted through program composition reflecting local characteristics. This study is significant in that it reinterprets the multi-functional coastal passenger terminal with local connectivity and publicness as core values, and concretizes planning principles derived from case analysis into an actual design proposal for a real site. Through this approach, the study suggests an architectural planning direction by which a coastal passenger terminal can operate as multi-functional infrastructure that simultaneously enhances operational sustainability and supplements local living infrastructure.