Seoul City to Promote 'Disabled-Non-disabled' Coexistence Sports Center

Created on the Site of the Municipal Gomduri Sports Center Parking Lot

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Seoul City announced on the 21st that it will create the ‘Municipal Bandabi Sports Center,’ where people with and without disabilities can enjoy recreational sports together, on the parking lot site of the ‘Gomduri Sports Center’ (located in Ogeum Park, Songpa-gu), the only sports facility for people with disabilities in the southeastern area and the only municipal facility.

Alongside the existing ‘Gomduri Sports Center,’ this complex will provide various facilities and programs for rehabilitation and recreational sports for people with disabilities, while serving as a sports, cultural, and rest complex space where all residents of the southeastern area, regardless of disability, can participate together. Conceptualized as an annex to the ‘Gomduri Sports Center,’ it will be built on the parking lot site with a total floor area of 3,690㎡ and is scheduled to open in the first half of 2026.

The center will include a ‘gymnasium’ where activities such as goalball, inline skating, and taekwondo can be practiced; a ‘program room’ for sports classes like table tennis, yoga, and gymnastics; and an ‘education room’ for art therapy, speech therapy, and more. Additionally, facilities such as a ‘physical fitness certification center’ and a ‘rehabilitation health room’ will be equipped to offer customized programs according to the type of disability.

Seoul City announced plans to build the ‘Municipal Bandabi Sports Center’ (an annex expansion of the Gomduri Sports Center) and revealed the winning design from an international design competition held over two months. Among a total of 48 entries, after two rounds of evaluation, the joint submission by Anmok Architects (Taedu An) and Offnis Architects (Daeyong Lee) was selected as the final winning design.

Judge Kiok Lee (Philip Comprehensive Architects) stated, “Five entries were selected in the first round of judging after multiple discussions and votes, focusing on concepts such as the layout that reads the relationship with the existing building and circulation plans considering height differences with surrounding roads.” He added, “The winning design was chosen first place due to its advantages of placing sports facilities on the first floor, the arrangement of the gymnasium connected to outdoor spaces, the entrance lobby designed with connectivity to the existing building, and the accommodation of the existing building’s form.”

The winner will be granted priority negotiation rights for the architectural design contract. Seoul City plans to complete the design with the winner by the end of next year and aims to finish construction by February 2026.

Seoul City’s Future Space Planning Officer Seonki Hong said, “A total of 171 teams registered for this design competition, and 48 teams submitted entries, showing great interest. With the selection of the winning design, we will officially begin the expansion of the only municipal sports facility for people with disabilities in the Seoul area, reflecting residents’ needs.” He added, “We will do our best to establish this as a sports facility where people with and without disabilities can participate together.”

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