Promotion of Special Building Zone Activation... Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Establishes Guidelines

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 3rd that it will issue and implement the 'Special Architectural District Operation Guidelines (Directive)' to promote harmonious and creative architecture.

Special Architectural Districts are a system that allows exceptions to architectural standards such as landscaping, building coverage ratio, floor area ratio, open space within the site, building height restrictions, and housing construction standards according to the characteristics of each project, in order to create urban landscapes, improve construction technology levels, and promote improvements in architectural-related systems.

Although first introduced in the Building Act in 2008, as of August this year, only 69 locations nationwide have been designated, showing poor performance. Accordingly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has prepared guidelines to revitalize the system.

First, Special Architectural Districts can be designated for cities or areas hosting international events, or for urban development, urban redevelopment, and architectural culture promotion projects where it is recognized that there is a need to create urban landscapes, improve construction technology levels, and promote improvements in architectural-related systems.

Within Special Architectural Districts, exceptions to architectural standards can be granted for buildings constructed by the state, local governments, or public institutions, or for buildings above a certain scale recognized by the permitting authority as conforming to the purpose of the designation.

The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the governors of metropolitan cities and provinces, as designating authorities, must decide whether to designate a Special Architectural District within 30 days from the date of receipt, after deliberation by the Architectural Committee on matters such as necessity, feasibility, public interest, and evacuation/disaster prevention, and must announce this in the official gazette.

When the private sector proposes a Special Architectural District, written consent from owners representing at least two-thirds of the land area is required, and if necessary, opinions from the relevant basic local government can be heard in advance.

If exceptions are to be granted to buildings after the designation of a Special Architectural District, the criteria specified in the guidelines must be finalized through deliberation by the Architectural Committee.

Um Jeong-hee, Director of Architectural Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We hope that through the revitalization of the Special Architectural District system, the creation of creative and excellent buildings will expand in Korea."

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