Winning Entry: Unsaengdong Architects Office and POSCO A&C Architects Office Team 'CITIZEN PLATFORM : Simin Platform'
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The blueprint for the 'Jongno-gu Integrated Government Building,' which will jointly develop the long-awaited new government building and the Seoul Disaster Response Control Tower Fire Joint Office, has been finalized.
Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) announced on the 14th that the winning entry of the international design competition for the integrated government building is 'CITIZEN PLATFORM: Simin Platform' by the team from Unsaengdong Architects Office and POSCO A&C Architects Office.
The design competition was announced on May 29 and ran until August 20, with 275 teams registering (111 domestic teams and 164 international teams). Among them, the final 24 teams submitted their works last month.
To fairly select innovative works, the district conducted technical evaluations and two rounds of competition reviews. A judging panel composed of nine members, including university professors and architectural design experts, selected the first-place winner and the second to fifth place winners.
Professor Kim Joon-sung of Konkuk University, who chaired the judging panel, stated, "The winning design stands out for its combination of various different functions and the placement of appropriately sized public spaces between those combinations. The segmentation presenting multiple platforms well represents the characteristics of the Jongno-gu Integrated Government Building."
Other awardees include second place: Mass Studies Architects Office; third place: GAA Architects Office and Professor Choi Moon-kyu of Yonsei University; fourth place: Haean Comprehensive Architects Office; and fifth place: Comprehensive Architects Office Lee Sang and Architects Office Meta, Architects Office Arcbody.
The first-place winning team will be granted the rights for basic and detailed design, while the second to fifth place winners will receive a total prize of 200 million KRW distributed accordingly.
Meanwhile, the current main building of the Jongno-gu Office was built in 1938. It was originally used as the Susong Elementary School building and has been used as the district office since 1975. Although it has undergone several expansions and renovations, the building suffers from aging, insufficient seismic design leading to decreased safety, lack of space causing reduced work efficiency, and increased maintenance costs, among other issues.
The Jongno Fire Station building, constructed in 1978, also faces many difficulties due to its small size and aging condition. Therefore, Jongno-gu plans to build an integrated government building with a total floor area of 67,000 square meters on the current fire station site (43 Sambong-ro, Jongno-gu) by 2024. The estimated budget for the integrated building is approximately 260 billion KRW, fully funded by the district and city.
The newly constructed Jongno-gu Integrated Government Building will house ▲Jongno-gu Office ▲Jongno-gu Council ▲Jongno Public Health Center and various cultural and resident convenience facilities, along with ▲Seoul Fire Disaster Headquarters ▲Seoul Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center ▲Jongno Fire Station, which will form the Fire Joint Office.
Mayor Kim Young-jong stated, "We plan to complete the design of the Jongno-gu Integrated Government Building, which embodies the unique history, culture, and arts of Jongno, by next year, start construction in 2022, and complete it in October 2024 after a 30-month construction period. Having carefully considered and prepared for a long time, we will build an open government building where the historical culture of Jongno breathes."
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