Paju City Establishes "A City Communicating Through Architecture" Architecture Festival as a Citizen-Participatory Event

Paju City Architecture Festival
Citizen Participation Program:
"Experience Making Architectural Models with Architects"

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province is running a special citizen participation program, "Experience Making Architectural Models with Architects," during the 2025 Paju City Architecture Festival, which is being held until October 26. This event is organized by the Paju Architectural Association and takes place at the Geumchon Eoullim Center.

Paju City is hosting the 2025 Paju City Architecture Festival's citizen participation program, "Making Architectural Models with Architects." Photo by Paju City

This program was designed as a "participatory architecture festival," moving beyond a simple exhibition-focused event to allow citizens to learn about and experience architecture firsthand. The goal is for architects and citizens to communicate and deepen their understanding of the value and role of architecture.

The theme of the program is "Between Architects." "Between Architects" encapsulates three Es-Education, Experience, and Everyone-offering career planning, hands-on workshops, and free consultations.

The Education segment targets middle and high school students aspiring to become architects, providing explanations of the architect’s role and actual work processes, and offering opportunities to explore future career paths.

The Experience segment is a paper architectural model-making class for children, where they cut and assemble models by hand, learning about spatial structure and a sense of balance through hands-on activities.

The Everyone segment offers free architectural consultations for the general public, allowing anyone to ask experts questions about building a house, renovations, permits, and other architectural topics they have always been curious about.

On October 20, children and elementary and middle school students participated in making architectural models directly with architects. The children unleashed their imagination by creating various types of buildings, such as their own houses, schools, and libraries. In the workshop, architects provided one-on-one guidance through the production process, explaining basic design principles and structural stability in an easy and engaging way. The completed models are displayed in an on-site exhibition space, and all participants receive a mock architect certificate and business card.

Additionally, during the festival, the Paju Architectural Association is operating a "Free Architect Consultation Space," where any citizen can receive advice on architectural matters. Architects plan to engage with citizens on a wide range of topics, from solving everyday architectural issues to discussing the future direction of local architectural culture.

A representative of the Paju Architectural Association stated, "Architecture is not just a technology for building houses, but a culture that connects people and cities," and added, "We hope this program will help children and citizens feel closer to architecture and discover the potential of Paju City's architectural culture together."

One citizen who participated in the event shared, "I used to think architecture was difficult, but making models myself and hearing from the architects made it much more interesting. It was a meaningful time to experience the fun of architecture with my child."

The Paju City Architecture Festival is establishing itself as an urban cultural festival where citizens take the lead in participating and learning every year. This year's event is designed as a meaningful festival where citizens, experts, and students come together to share the social value and future vision of architecture.

Paju City has been selected as a co-host city for the 2026 Gyeonggi Architecture Festival. The city plans to continue combining the expertise of the architectural community with citizen participation to create "Paju, a city that communicates through architecture."

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