Gwangmyeong City's Life Garden 'Soha Damsoop' Draws Attention with Consecutive Awards in Design and Color Fields

Received the Value Award at the Korea Color Awards Following the Korea National Land Awards
Healing Space in Senior Welfare Center... Enhanced Cognitive Recovery through Harmony of Color and Sensory Stimulation

Soha Damsoop, a life garden created by Gwangmyeong City at the Soha Senior Welfare Center in Gyeonggi Province, has been drawing attention after consecutively winning awards in the fields of design and color.

Soha Damsoop is an indoor healing garden established by the city. It is a space designed to provide seniors with a variety of experiences through nature, helping to alleviate depression, promote cognitive health, and prevent dementia.

The life garden "Sohadamsup" set up at Gwangmyeong Soha Senior Welfare Center. It is an indoor healing garden created by Gwangmyeong City using nature as a medium. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

Soha Damsoop was selected as the recipient of the "Blue (BLUE)" Value Award at the 23rd Korea Color Awards. Hosted by the Korean Society of Color Studies, this award recognizes individuals, companies, and organizations that have creatively embodied the meaning and value of color in areas such as spatial environment, industrial design, and emotion-oriented communication.

Previously, in September, Soha Damsoop also received the President's Award from the Korean Society of Public Design at the Korea National Land Awards.

This space is recognized for expanding beyond simply representing the colors of gardens and nature, instead serving as a healing medium that stimulates the senses and memory. Various natural colors have been reinterpreted with artificial hues and applied to the walls, while elements like trees and leaves have been harmoniously arranged to further awaken the senses of seniors.

The walls, too, go beyond simple painting, having been completed as works of art through collaboration with an artist, making the entire space feel like a single garden. In particular, the design maximizes cognitive recovery by orchestrating multisensory stimuli from nature-such as the sound of rain, the smell of soil, and the texture of plants-in a cascading manner.

The wall of 'Sohadam Forest.' Beyond simple painting, the entire space was designed to feel like a single garden through collaboration with the artist. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

The garden also incorporates social and environmental values by using eco-friendly, technology-based paint, supported by the Noroo Paint social contribution project.

Park Seungwon, Mayor of Gwangmyeong, stated, "This award demonstrates that Gwangmyeong City's urban policies centered on spatial welfare have been highly evaluated in the field of design. We will continue to expand the application of designs that embody the public nature and restorative value of spaces throughout public buildings and welfare facilities."

This year's Korea Color Awards ceremony will be held on November 8 at the Moiso Gallery in Seoul Design House. An exhibition of the award-winning works will also take place at the same venue on November 7 and 8.