Busan City Renovates Aging Public Facilities Through Donations in Building Environment Improvement Project

Emotional Healing for Socially Vulnerable Groups and Unclaimed Funeral Services Village Enterprise

'HOPE with HUG Project' Nasum Cooperative Remodeling

Busan City has completed the 60th project of the small-scale aging public facility architectural environment improvement project, ‘HOPE with HUG Project’.

The city, Busan International Architecture Festival Organizing Committee (Executive Chairman Lee Seong-ho), and Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG, President Yoo Byung-tae) signed a tripartite agreement and have been continuously promoting the ‘HOPE with HUG Project,’ an architectural environment improvement project for small-scale aging public facilities, since 2016.

The remodeled site this time is 'Nasum Cooperative' (Mangyang-ro, Dong-gu), a village enterprise operating educational programs for the emotional healing of socially vulnerable groups and unclaimed funeral services.

Located in a building constructed in 1995, the facility was generally severely aged and very vulnerable to cold due to poor windows and other factors. There were also issues such as lack of storage space and difficulties for disabled people in using the facility.

Before remodeling of Nasum Cooperative (interior).

Accordingly, Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation and Kyungdong Construction sponsored the construction funds, and architect office GEM’s CEO Choi Jun-seok donated design talent to promote a large-scale remodeling.

As a result, the space was reborn as a bright and warm environment where socially vulnerable groups, including the disabled, can all comfortably use the facility.

Nasum Cooperative Remodeling After Photo (Interior).

By improving access areas such as entrances and restrooms, inconvenience for disabled users was eliminated.

The completion ceremony was held on the 2nd, attended by about 30 people including city and Dong-gu district heads, Kyungdong Construction, and residents.

Kim Jong-seok, Director of the City Architecture and Housing Bureau, said, “The HOPE with HUG Project, which has been promoted for several years through the cooperation of the public, private, and academic sectors, is a small-scale public facility architectural environment improvement project that helps the healthy development of local communities. We hope that the newly renovated space through this project will continue to develop as a warm shelter for local residents and marginalized groups.”