Enhancing the Quality of Public Architecture Design... Breaking Away from Existing Practices and Improving Design

4th Full Meeting of the Intergovernmental Council on Public Architecture Design Improvement Held
Separate Basic Architectural Design Orders through Application of Public Architecture Design Improvement Measures
Visible Outcomes of Pilot Projects Creating Buildings Harmonious with Surrounding Landscapes
Discussion on Promotion Directions of Green New Deal Core Tasks such as Green Remodeling and Green Smart School Projects

Cases of Design Improvement by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Institutional improvement measures to enhance the quality of public architecture design will be implemented.

The National Architecture Policy Committee and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 31st that they held the 4th plenary meeting of the “Government-wide Council for Public Architecture Design Improvement” (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Government-wide Council’) on the 29th.

Participating ministries include the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Police Agency, Public Procurement Service, Administrative City Agency, and Saemangeum Development Agency.

The Government-wide Council was launched as a follow-up measure after the 75th National Policy Issues Inspection and Coordination Meeting (April 2019), where the “Public Architecture Design Improvement Plan” was reviewed and confirmed. Since then, efforts have been made to enhance the design quality of public architecture by strengthening the capabilities of ordering agencies and improving project procedures to secure design quality.

In particular, to spread successful cases, five pilot projects for public architecture design improvement with high symbolism and ripple effects were selected, including school space innovation, urban regeneration, rural development, Saemangeum New Deal 300, and cultural and sports-related living SOC. Various institutional improvement measures such as participation of private experts including general/public architects, prior review of architectural plans, separate ordering of building design, and realization of design intent were applied to these pilot projects.

This meeting was held to review the progress of the pilot projects, examining the current status of institutional improvements for applying design improvement measures to the Saemangeum New Deal 300 project and general rural development projects, reviewing cases of applying improvement measures, and discussing future directions.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries selected five leading projects last year: Dala Harbor in Tongyeong, Gyeongnam; Shingu Harbor in Wando, Jeonnam; Janggo Island in Boryeong, Chungnam; Yeongun Harbor in Tongyeong, Gyeongnam; and Cheongsapo Harbor in Busan. In January of this year, they established a comprehensive plan for a community-based spatial environment targeting these projects. Through this, they plan to build a spatial environment design management system, prepare the “Saemangeum New Deal 300 Project Design Management Guidelines,” and continuously monitor to derive successful cases of leading projects and expand them.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs revised the project implementation guidelines to apply the “Public Architecture Design Improvement Plan” to 64 locations including rural central revitalization projects. Through design improvements, they aim to minimize the heterogeneity between buildings and surrounding natural landscapes and continue to supply rural-type living SOC facilities that consider long-term demand changes.

Additionally, they shared the achievements of the Green Remodeling and Green Smart School projects, which are being promoted as part of the Korean New Deal in response to post-COVID-19, with participating institutions of the Government-wide Council and held discussions on future directions.

Inseok Park, Chairman of the National Architecture Policy Committee, emphasized, “It is very important to make pilot projects successful cases for the institutional improvement outcomes to spread throughout public architecture.”

Chairman Park stated, “Going forward, to enable the public to fully experience the improvements in public architecture design, we plan to actively discover and promote excellent cases through the Government-wide Council. Additionally, we will continuously review the public architecture design process and encourage related ministries to promptly supplement any deficiencies in laws and systems related to public architecture.”

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