Department of Interior Environmental Design at Pusan National University Holds 'Graduation Exhibition' at Yeongdo Blueport 2021

November 1-3, 16 Creative Idea Works for Urban Regeneration Free Exhibition

Creating Sustainable Spaces through Coexistence and Regeneration... Contributing to the Realization of Future Yeongdo Vision

Department of Interior Environmental Design at Pusan National University (President Choi Jae-won) will hold the ‘17th Graduation Exhibition of 2024’ with local residents from November 1 to 3 at Blue Port 2021, a complex cultural space located in Yeongdo-gu, Busan.

Under the theme of ‘Breath of Space,’ this graduation exhibition is organized as part of the ‘Yeongdo Vision 2030’ project. It will showcase creative ideas from Pusan National University students aimed at transforming the industrial complexes and factory areas of Yeongdo-gu, Busan, into complex cultural spaces.

Poster for the 17th Graduation Exhibition of the Department of Interior Environmental Design, Pusan National University.

The participating students strategically approached issues such as the aging residential environment, accessibility problems, population aging, and youth outflow in Yeongdo-gu, embedding their concerns and efforts to solve community problems into their works with the goal of creating sustainable spaces.

Based on the knowledge and experience accumulated over the past four years in the Department of Interior Environmental Design at Pusan National University, the students proposed a vision to reconstruct the closed factories and functionally degraded areas of Bongnae 1-dong, Yeongdo-gu, into new cultural tourism hubs through the concepts of coexistence and regeneration, revitalizing historical buildings into modern spaces.

The spaces created in this way will be realized in diverse forms across 16 works by Pusan National University students, including urban healing facilities, spaces for upcycling and recycling of waste fluorescent lamps, waste tires, and coffee grounds, a seaweed Gompi experience research center (a specialty of Yeongdo), a marine safety experience center, a senior daycare center, a complex cultural space for companion dogs, and community gardens.

Professor Kim Dong-sik of the Department of Interior Environmental Design at Pusan National University, who is in charge of the exhibition, said, “This graduation exhibition will be an important opportunity to seek tangible changes and development through deep connections with the local community beyond mere academic achievements,” and added, “I hope that the talents nurtured by the Department of Interior Environmental Design at Pusan National University will take the lead in driving the development and transformation of the local community.”

Professor Kim also emphasized, “An important goal of the university is to prepare practical and necessary processes so that students can thoroughly review and adapt well to society before entering the workforce,” highlighting the importance of industry-academia cooperation.

In fact, this exhibition will provide opportunities for communication through invited lectures by Professor Yoo Jae-woo of the Department of Architecture at Pusan National University, CEO Go Seong-ho of PDM Partners, Director Jung Joo-eun of Momos Coffee, CTO Tae Yoon-jae of Labod, and CEO Im Hyun-ji of Space Won.

Lecturer Choi Jeong-yoon of the department also participated in planning this exhibition alongside Professor Kim Dong-sik. Based on overseas experience and youthful sensibility, Lecturer Choi said, “I hope this exhibition will help students communicate with the local community and develop creative and international perspectives.”

This exhibition was supported through collaboration between Pusan National University and the space design specialist company PDM Partners, helping students present in-depth approaches and solutions to real social issues.

CEO Lee Hae-nyeon of PDM Partners said, “This graduation exhibition is the fruit of students’ creative ideas and efforts to transform Yeongdo, an industrial area, into a space where culture and innovation coexist,” and added, “PDM Partners plans to actively cooperate in projects that realize such social values in the future.”

The exhibition aims to provide local residents with opportunities to enjoy knowledge and culture and to offer future-oriented shared values to the community. It is open to the public free of charge and can also be viewed online.

Overview of the Busan National University Department of Interior Environmental Design Graduation Exhibition.