'Seoul Architecture Culture Festival' to be Held 'On and Off' at Nodeul Island and Online in September

Professor Seohyun of Seoul National University Department of Architecture Appointed as General Director... 'Seoul City Architecture Award' Contest to Improve Citizens' Quality of Life

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 20th that it will hold the 13th Seoul Architecture Festival from September 8 to 20 under the theme "On&Off." The event will be held both online and offline at Nodeul Island and on the Seoul Architecture Festival website.

This year, with daily life shifting from offline to online after COVID-19, the theme "On&Off" was chosen to approach the value of architecture, which previously existed only offline, from an online perspective. The festival shares questions and thoughts about "new architecture" amid the transition from contact to contactless and from face-to-face to non-face-to-face interactions, exploring what changes architecture is undergoing.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government appointed Professor Seo Hyun of Seoul National University's Department of Architecture as the general director leading this year's Seoul Architecture Festival. General Director Seo said, "I hope the Seoul Architecture Festival becomes a platform where participants can share their diverse ideas."

The main programs of the Seoul Architecture Festival include ▲Opening Ceremony ▲"Seoul Metropolitan City Architecture Award" ceremony and exhibition ▲"Architecture Stories with Me" ceremony and exhibition ▲Seoul Architecture Forum ▲Special Exhibition of the 20-Year Architecture Award Grand Prize ▲UAUS (University Architecture Union) exhibition ▲Citizen participation programs, among others.

The 39th Seoul Metropolitan City Architecture Award, the most prestigious award in all architectural fields of the Seoul Architecture Festival, is open for submissions from the 20th until July 16. The Seoul Metropolitan Government annually discovers and awards outstanding architectural works located in Seoul that realize the public, artistic, and technical values of architecture and improve citizens' quality of life.

The judging will be conducted twice, and the final winners are expected to be selected around August. Awards will be given in two categories: the Seoul Metropolitan City Architecture Award and the Seoul Green Architecture Award, totaling 16 awards, along with one "Master Architect" award. Among the 16 expected award-winning works, a "Citizen Sympathy Special Award" will also be given, selected directly by citizen votes. The award ceremony will be held at the opening event of the Seoul Architecture Festival.

The "Architecture Stories with Me" contest is open for submissions from the 20th until July 6. Submission categories include video, drawing, essay, and photography. A total of 16 works will be selected and awarded. For the first time this year, prize money has been prepared. The winning works will be exhibited at Nodeul Island during the Seoul Architecture Festival period.

Additionally, an expert forum related to this year’s Seoul Architecture Festival theme "On&Off" will be held. It will be a venue for architects and experts from various fields, as well as citizens, to exchange ideas, divided into several sessions. Each session will feature keynote presentations and open discussions. Following this, there will be a special exhibition of last year’s architecture award grand prize winner and various programs such as "Architecture Culture Tour," "Docent Tour," "Open Lectures," "Architect Dialogues," and a "Job Festival" in which citizens can participate.

Kim Seong-bo, head of the Housing and Architecture Headquarters of Seoul City, said, "Due to COVID-19, many aspects of life have changed, and last year’s Seoul Architecture Festival met citizens online. This year, we are taking a step further by setting the major theme (On&Off) on how 'architecture' is changing from offline to online, and the event will be operated in a hybrid format (On&Off), both online and offline."

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