Gwangju's Representative Library Establishment 'Sangmu Incineration Plant International Design Competition' Evaluation Underway

Visit of Renowned Domestic and International Judges Including Thomas Bonnier

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is delivering a greeting at the 'International Design Competition Jury Meeting for the Construction of Gwangju Representative Library.' Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 10th that the final evaluation of the ‘Sangmu Incineration Plant International Design Competition,’ which is being promoted to transform the representative hated facility of Gwangju into a representative library, will be held over two days starting from the 10th.

The Sangmu Incineration Plant International Design Competition has been promoted to build Gwangju’s representative library on the site of the Sangmu Incineration Plant, which was closed in December 2016. A total of 39.2 billion KRW, including 15.68 billion KRW in national funds and 23.52 billion KRW in city funds, will be invested to construct a building with a total floor area of approximately 11,000㎡, consisting of one basement floor and four above-ground floors.

Gwangju City began preliminary publicity on November 18 last year, announced the competition on November 25, and completed participant registration and other procedures by December 11. A total of 817 teams from 62 countries (193 domestic teams and 624 international teams) registered.

The competition attracted international attention as it aimed to rebirth the incineration plant, which was a symbol of disputes and conflicts as a hated facility, into a library.

The final evaluation of this competition will be held on the 10th and 11th at the Gwangju Biennale. The judging panel consists of eight members, including architect Tomas Vonier, president of the International Union of Architects (UIA); Robert GreenWood, lead architect of the Snøhetta office, recently spotlighted for winning a global library international design competition; Ki Oh-heon, representative of Min Hyun-sik Architects; Professor Kim Seong-hong of the University of Seoul; Professor Choi Moon-gyu of Yonsei University; Professor Oh Se-gyu of Chonnam National University; Choi Kyung-yang, representative of Hanssem Architects; and Jung Hyun-ah, representative of DIA Architects.

Before the evaluation, Mayor Lee Yong-seop met with the judges along with Ham In-seon, Gwangju’s chief architect, and Jo Seung-gu, the competition’s chief committee member, to explain the significance of the representative library.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “The Sangmu Incineration Plant has been a symbol of disputes and conflicts, but through community consensus, it is undergoing a meaningful process to be built as a representative library. I ask you to select a good design that will transform it into a world-class library that combines Gwangju’s justice, culture, unique characteristics, and advanced technologies such as information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI), making it elegant and welcomed by users.”

Architect Tomas Vonier said, “The Sydney Opera House, the Alexandria Library in Egypt, and the Pompidou Center in France were all built through international design competitions. I expect that many excellent designs have been submitted for the Sangmu Incineration Plant as well, gathering ideas from around the world. We will conduct a fair and objective evaluation to ensure that a library incorporating new ideas and technologies is built.”

The results of the representative library international design competition will be announced on the 14th after the final evaluation, and the winning design will be granted the design rights. Once the winning design is decided, Gwangju City plans to complete the basic and detailed designs by December, start construction in the first half of 2021, and aim for completion and opening in 2022.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.