Seoul: The Latest Architecture and News

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It is now of worldwide interest to re-think how our cities will adapt to a post-COVID-19 era, and take the necessary actions. Understanding that social distancing is of vital importance, our various daily-life spaces will face an inevitable change. Considering the current situation which calls for proper architectural solutions in response to the unprecedented pandemic, The Seoul Metropolitan Government is developing innovative concepts for new built environments, city spaces, and landscapes, able to adapt to this post-coronavirus era. Aligned with this approach, Seoul City has recently held an international Competition for Architectural Ideas in order to prepare for the post-COVID-19 world.

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The Seoul Compact City has held 3 different international design competitions, in 3 different neighborhoods in Seoul, South Korea, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by Seoul Housing Corporation (SH Corporation). Aiming to create complex urban spaces in each of the interventions of the three-dimensional project, the contest selected visionary winning teams for each thematic, focusing on the introduction of public housing units and the enhancement of the infrastructure.

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Videos

UNStudio in collaboration with Johan Cruijff ArenA designed a winning plan for the Korean National Football Centre in Seoul. Focusing on health, wellness, science, technology, education, and promoting a healthy lifestyle, the project was selected as the winning design in an international closed competition that took place in March this year.

Seoul is considered one of the most densely-populated and over-priced cities in the world, reaching a staggering $ 80,000 per square meter. The extreme conditions of the city have forced local architects to operate, design, and build framing the city's urban issues, traditions, and history. This approach by architects has created the theoretical basis of “The Condition of Seoul Architecture”, a publication by multidisciplinary practice TCA Think Tank which sees the point of view of 18 innovative South Korean architects.

In this interview, Pier Alessio Rizzardi, founder of the practice, talked to Cho Byoung-soo of BCHO Architects, discussing traditional Korean Architecture, the struggles of the contemporary Identity, and his sensitive approach to materiality, nature and time.

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UNStudio has just completed the remodeling works of the Hanwha headquarters building in Seoul, while the building remained fully occupied. The refurbishment operations have created a modern establishment that meets the current sustainability requirements.

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Focusing on competition entries, this week’s curated selection of the best-unbuilt architecture from our readers' submissions, highlights projects from across the globe, presented part of international contests. Some are winners, some are not but all of the featured schemes have an intriguing conceptual approach, and a different story to tell.

Tackling diverse programming, the entries include an urban public housing proposal in South Korea, the Dianju Village Library in China and a new Future-Oriented Neighborhood in Finland combining urban and sustainable living. Moreover, the article showcases rare and unconventional functions like a hospital for psychiatry & neurological diseases in Turkey and an intervention on a famed Oscar Niemeyer site.

Designed by OMA / Chris van Duijn, the Department Store Galleria in Gwanggyo, south of Seoul has just opened. The store’s sixth branch is located at the center of the relatively young and new urban development.

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This week’s curated selection from our readers’ submissions focuses on some of the essential components of our present-day cities.

Featuring the best-unbuilt architecture, the article highlights adaptive reuse projects that transformed abandoned warehouses and factories, a street design in Luxembourg, a regenerative master plan in Seoul, and an emergency family accommodation to temporarily house those in need. Moreover, the roundup distinguishes a library in South Korea and an extension of a museum in Helsinki, because the cultural aspect is an integral part of our urban environment.