Establishment of the 'Seoul Universal Design Award'... Promoting Design Without Discrimination Based on Gender, Age, or Nationality

Spreading a Design Culture Free from Discrimination Based on Gender, Age, Disability, and Nationality... Driving Related Industries

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 23rd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will establish the "Seoul Universal Design Award (SUDA)" for the first time among public institutions to promote the spread of universal design and the advancement of related industries. Universal design refers to designs that anyone can use safely and conveniently without discrimination based on gender, age, disability, or nationality.

Seoul plans to create the Universal Design Award to discover architectural works, spaces, services, and policy ideas that reflect designs respecting all people, and to encourage the achievements of individuals and organizations contributing to urban innovation. Through this, the goal is to spread an integrated design culture nationwide based on the Seoul-style universal design model.

The "Seoul Universal Design Award" is hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Universal Design Center (Director Choi Ryeong). A total of 8 winners will be selected, with total prize money of 26 million KRW awarded. The grand prize winner (individual, team, or institution) will receive the Seoul Mayor’s Award and a prize of 7 million KRW. Support for producing a catalog of the winning works will also be provided. Additional benefits include promotion through the Seoul city and center websites.

The competition categories are broadly divided into two: UD (Universal Design) environment creation, and services and policies. The "UD environment creation" category targets parks, plazas, buildings, and spaces completed or projects finished within the last two years. Entries are accepted separately in the social/public sector and the private sector.

The "services and policies" category invites submissions of ideas related to space operation systems, manuals, service programs, policies, and institutional improvements. Applicants can choose to submit either user service improvement cases or future policy proposals. Proposals selected in the future policy category will be reflected in Seoul city policies going forward.

The first application period for the award is from July 1 to August 31. Applications can be submitted online through the Universal Design Center website. The announcement of winners and the awards ceremony are scheduled to take place in December this year.

Yoo Yeon-sik, Head of the Seoul Cultural Headquarters, stated, “Through the universal design policies and projects that Seoul has laid the foundation for over the past 10 years, we believe we have established a cornerstone for transforming the city from a supplier-centered ‘uniform average’ to one where each citizen is respected.” He added, “We will strive to make this award an opportunity for not only the public sector but all members of society to participate together in creating a universal design city.”

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