Seoul Architecture Festival Opens on the 16th... Theme is 'Tteumsae Architecture'

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 14th that the 'Seoul Architecture Festival 2020' will officially begin with the opening ceremony on the 16th.

Now in its 12th year, this event is held under the theme of 'Gap Architecture' and will run until the 31st through the official Seoul Architecture Festival website.

The opening ceremony on the 16th will be conducted with fewer than 50 participants, including awardees and presenters, in compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Along with the opening declaration, the 38th Seoul Architecture Awards and the Summer Architecture School (SAF University Student Competition) awards will be presented. The winning works will be exhibited online through videos featuring vivid scenes and interviews with the designers.

This online exhibition program is designed with themes and content that are easy and enjoyable not only for architecture professionals but also for citizens, and will be introduced through various SNS channels alongside the official website.

Additionally, for the first time this year, a 'Special Exhibition for the Grand Prize of the Architecture Awards' will be held as a privilege awarded to the architect who wins the prestigious grand prize at the Seoul Architecture Awards.

Online citizen participation programs include open lectures, architect dialogues, and Architecture in(t)erviews, and the offline Architecture Culture Tour will also provide course guide videos online, allowing anyone to participate.

In particular, the 'Architecture in(t)erview' program, aimed at architecture majors and interested citizens to assist with employment and entrepreneurship in the architectural design field, is expected to be a valuable opportunity to learn about the unique work characteristics and curious stories from experts working at various types of design offices, which cannot be experienced in advance.

Kim Seongbo, Head of the Housing and Architecture Headquarters of Seoul City, said, “We hope the Seoul Architecture Festival will serve as a fun and useful medium for communication between the architecture of urban Seoul and citizens' lives, leading to attractive changes in the city and life. We also hope that citizens who refrain from going out due to COVID-19 prevention guidelines and interested people from other regions will enjoy Seoul's architectural culture through the online programs.”

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