'Bukahyeon-dong Inclined Elevator' Korea Public Design Award

The Grand Prize Goes to the 'Nongsan-eochon Universal Life Project'

The 'Bukahyeon-dong Inclined Elevator Installation Project' will receive this year's Korea Public Design Award (Prime Minister's Award). The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation announced fifteen awardees on the 21st. Eleven awards were given in the project category, three in the research category, and one in the local government category.

Inclined Elevator

The 'Bukahyeon-dong Inclined Elevator Installation Project' was selected as the grand prize winner in the project category. It is a public architectural work jointly created by Seodaemun-gu Office and the architectural firm UnitUA. By applying universal design, it improved the walking environment not only for the mobility-impaired but for everyone. Universal design refers to creating social and living environments that all citizens can use safely and conveniently regardless of gender, age, nationality, or disability. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "It is an excellent example of urban public design that solves social problems," adding, "The actual usage rate reaches 1,000 times per day on average, and resident satisfaction is also high."

The excellence award in the project category was given to the Korea Rural Community Corporation's 'Project to Guarantee the Universal Life of Residents in Rural Areas.' It was evaluated as a construction and design guideline developed by establishing concepts suited to the characteristics of rural areas, departing from the existing urban-centered public design. The merit awards went to projects such as 'Gwangju Yangdong Elementary Student-Centered Space Innovation' by Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education and Project Party, 'Stress Relief Design for Counseling Spaces' by Seoul City Hall, 'Safe Cafe Bus Stop in the City' by Seongdong-gu Office, 'Platform Safety Door Name Attachment' by Daegu Transportation Corporation, 'Jori-eup Administrative Welfare Center Cultural Hall' by Paju City Public Architecture Construction Promotion Team, and 'Everyone's Dribble' by Hana Financial Group.

Student-Centered Space Innovation at Gwangju Yangdong Elementary School

The top research award went to Sang-A Kim (Hongik University Public Design Research Center) for the study titled 'A Study on Social Value Evaluation Indicators of Public Art Projects.' This document points out issues in public art projects mainly conducted by local governments and public institutions and proposes objective evaluation criteria. The social value evaluation items were categorized and specified into emotional effects, educational effects, community strengthening, crime prevention and safety enhancement, regional development effects, increased artistry, and fairness improvement. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism commented, "It reflects improvements to the existing public art evaluation system while showing the institutional foundation and direction to enhance publicness and realize social value."

The special Victor Margolin Award was given to Juho Lee (Hongik University Public Design Research Center) for the 'Study on Network Governance Model for Collaborative Public Design Projects.' This book proposes network governance to improve public sector problems that are difficult to solve by a single entity. It suggests a model where various entities such as government and educational institutions can cooperate. Victor Margolin (1941?2019) was a world-renowned design scholar. The award was established in his memory with a donation to support the development of Korean design and academic research in public design.

A Project to Ensure the Universal Life of Residents in Agricultural and Fishing Villages

The newly established top award in the local government category this year went to Incheon Metropolitan City. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism explained, "Over the past five years since the implementation of the 1st Comprehensive Plan for Public Design Promotion, the city enacted public design ordinances and established promotion plans," adding, "The formation of a workforce structure through hiring design professionals and the implementation of related projects and education were also highly evaluated." The award ceremony will be held on October 27 at the Understand Avenue Art Stand in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. For more details, please refer to the Korea Craft & Design Foundation website or the Public Design Comprehensive Information System.

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