University Floor Area Ratio and Height Regulation Relaxed... 'O Sehun's Space Innovation' Kicks Off

Seoul City is set to actively implement the 'Oh Se-hoon-style Spatial Innovation,' which relaxes floor area ratio and height regulations for universities aiming to expand advanced facilities.

On the 13th, the city held a presentation event under the slogan "Adding Innovation to Universities, Meeting the Future of Seoul" at Hongik University’s Jandari Hall, attended by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Hong Sung-tae, chairman of the Seoul University Presidents Forum (President of Sangmyung University), and over 80 university presidents from eight universities to share cases of spatial innovation in universities.

Following Mayor Oh’s announcement of the 'Urban Planning Support Plan' last December to assist universities struggling to secure space due to floor area ratio limits, the city amended the 'Seoul City Urban Planning Ordinance,' which has been in effect since July.

The ordinance includes provisions to relax the floor area ratio by up to 1.2 times when introducing innovation growth zones (facilities) and removes height restrictions on university facilities within natural scenic districts if there is no impact on the surroundings.

Through regulatory relaxation, Korea University changed the architectural plan for the Jeong Woon-oh IT Liberal Arts Building from seven to ten floors, and Yonsei University expanded its semiconductor cleanroom and research laboratories.

Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, Sejong University, Ewha Womans University, and Chung-Ang University are planning new constructions and expansions to secure advanced facilities such as AI universities and industry-academia belts.

Hongik University, which has already reached the floor area ratio limit, can now design a new innovation campus by introducing innovation growth zones. The presentation event also included a tour of the recently completed Hongik University Art and Design Valley.

The city plans to actively promote urban planning consulting from the planning stage to ensure that the 'Oh Se-hoon-style Future Innovation Universities' achieve tangible results and will additionally review measures to rationalize standards in the approval process, such as criteria for installing affiliated parking lots and environmental impact assessment procedures. Furthermore, innovation plans for the project execution phase will be announced in the first half of next year.

Chairman Hong said, "The space shortage problem at universities in Seoul was severe, making it difficult to carry out industry-academia-research projects and national projects, but with the city’s support enabling new constructions and expansions, we can strengthen industry-academia collaborative research activities and improve the educational environment. I believe this will be an opportunity to enhance the global competitiveness of universities in the Seoul area."

Mayor Oh emphasized, "I hope that this occasion will allow more universities to realize spatial innovation that maximizes their unique characteristics and creative core competencies. We will continue to work together to ensure that university innovation becomes a key engine driving urban innovation."

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