Seoul Metropolitan Library Competition
Competition facilitator: Seoul Metropolitan Government Future Space Planning Division Urban Space Planning Officer
Type: International, open, two-stage
Languages: English, Korean
Eligibility: Team should have licensed architect
Fee: None
Timetable:
28 August 2023 – Competition launch
14 September 2023 – Registration deadline
5 September 2023 – Q&A deadline
26 September 2023 – Deadline for submissions
Process:
The design competition will consist of two phases. Phase 1 will evaluate the basic concept plan and spatial organization based on the aforementioned key requirements, and with a submission fee and additional time for winners selected in Phase 1, Phase 2 will select more advanced plans to implement the concepts. With a two-phase process, we hope to reduce the volume and cost of submissions in Phase 1, but still get original concepts, and concrete blueprints that can be realized in Phase 2
Design goals:
• A public library that aims to be the biggest and the best
• The site is a cultural facility site created as part of the development of the Jeonnong-Dapsimni Redevelopment Area, where large-scale apartment complexes are concentrated, and Cheongnyangni Station (Line 1, Gyeongui-Jungang, Bundang Line), Sindap Station (Line 2), Dapsimni Station (Line 5), Seoul National University, Cheonggyecheon Stream, and Dapsimni Park are located within a 1km radius. To meet the demand for cultural and green spaces in the area and to provide specialized and diversified library services befitting the status of Seoul as an international city, the new public library will be the largest in the country (site area: 16,899.30m2, gross floor area: 25,000m2) and aim to provide spaces and services of the highest quality. • A community hub where people meet and knowledge is created • The Seoul Public Library (Dongdaemun) (Tentative) aims to be a space where people encounter not only information but people, and where information is not only collected and preserved but knowledge, skills, and stories are produced and shared among people. Connecting information, people, and places across internal and external boundaries, the library of the future will function as an activity-oriented, boundaryless space open for anyone to use and interact with regardless of gender, generation, region, or disability, and function as an open community hub that creates programs with citizens. • GLAM(Gallery, Library, Archive, Museum) • The new library will be built as a gallery-library-archive-museum complex (GLAM) that offers a variety of program activities and services, such as exhibitions, performances, experiences, and education, centered on the functions of the Seoul Studies Archive and library, and will function as a smart center for integrated management of books and knowledge information across the city based on advanced technologies, including automated preservation libraries and book browsing robots. • Sustainability for future generations • A noteworthy requirement of the competition was the specification to use wooden structures in the main part of the building, and requiring flexibility of space to accommodate various activities as well as a plan to proactively utilize the external space. Through these requirements, the hope is that creative and challenging designs that do not just follow the manual, as well as innovative architecture that can reveal Seoul’s eco-friendly future vision will be realized, setting new precedents for future generations. Expectations for the new competition method With a two-phase process, we hope to reduce the volume and cost of submissions in Phase 1, but still get original concepts, and concrete blueprints that can be realized in Phase 2. With the excessive costs and irregularities of overheated design competitions, we hope that the competition will serve as a forward-thinking and sustainable way to drive a better design environment. Shin Seung-soo, Head of Operation For more information, go to: |
1st Place: Zaha Hadid Architects – night view from river – Render by Negativ
Arriving to board a ferry boat or cruise ship used to be a rather mundane experience. If you had luggage, you might be able to drop it off upon boarding, assuming that the boarding operation was sophisticated enough. In any case, the arrival experience was nothing to look forward to. I recall boarding the SS United States for a trip to Europe in the late 1950s. Arriving at the pier in New York, the only thought any traveler had was to board that ocean liner as soon as possible, find one’s cabin, and start exploring. If you were in New York City and arriving early, a nearby restaurant or cafe would be your best bet while passing time before boarding. Read more… Preparation and Organization of Design Competitions 
[phase 1] Benjamin Hossbach / Christian Lehmhaus / Christine Eichelmann
210 × 230 mm, 192 pp.
over 600 images
softcover
ISBN 978-3-86922-316-2 (English)
ISBN 978-3-86922-240-0 (German)
Dom Publishers
€48 in EU (For price abroad, see below)
Founded in 1998 in Berlin, Phase 1 has been a principal player in the organization and facilitation of design competitions, not only in Germany, but abroad as well. The accomplishments of the firm have been well documented in three volumes—The Architecture of Competitions—beginning in 2i006. Whereas these books mainly focused on the results of the competitions they have administered, the present work, Fundamentals of Competition Management, takes one from the very beginnings of the competition process to its conclusion. The authors envisioned the publication as “three three books in one: one „blue book“ with example projects, one „yellow book“ with statements and the „white book“ with the actual guideline to competition management.”
Although there have been a number of handbooks covering the administration of designcompetitions a study covering the entire process in such detail is a welcome addition to the the literature in this field. As a contribution to this important democratic process that has yielded exceptional design for decades, this volume is not only valid for Europe, but a current overview of the process for those globally who wish to raise the level of design by virtue of a design competition. -Ed Foreign institutions wishing to obtain a copy of the book will recieve a discount to cover the cost of foreign shipping.
To obtain a copy for that offer, go to: accounting@phase1.de 
Helsinki Central Library, by ALA Architects (2012-2018)
The world has experienced a limited number of open competitions over the past three decades, but even with diminishing numbers, some stand out among projects in their categories that can’t be ignored for the high quality and degree of creativity they revealed. Included among those are several invited competitions that were extraordinary in their efforts to explore new avenues of institutional and museum design. Some might ask why the Vietnam Memorial is not mentioned here. Only included in our list are competitions that were covered by us, beginning in 1990 with COMPETITIONS magazine to the present day. As for what category a project under construction (Science Island), might belong to or fundraising still in progress (San Jose’s Urban Confluence or the Cold War Memorial competition, Wisconsin), we would classify the former as “built” and wait and see what happens with the latter—keeping our fingers crossed for a positive outcome. Read More… 
2023 Teaching and Innovation Farm Lab Graduate Student Honor Award by USC (aerial view)
Architecture at Zero competitions, which focus on the theme, Design Competition for Decarbonization, Equity and Resilience in California, have been supported by numerous California utilities such as Southern California Edison, PG&E, SoCAl Gas, etc., who have recognized the need for better climate solutions in that state as well as globally. Until recently, most of these competitions were based on an ideas only format, with few expectations that any of the winning designs would actually be realized. The anticipated realization of the 2022 and 2023 competitions suggests that some clients are taking these ideas seriously enough to go ahead with realization. Read more… 
RUR model perspective – ©RUR
New Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Terminal, Taiwan (2011-2020)
Reiser+Umemoto RUR Architecture PC/ Jesse Reiser – U.S.A.
with
Fei & Cheng Associates/Philip T.C. Fei – R.O.C. (Tendener)
This was probably the last international open competition result that was built in Taiwan. A later competition for the Keelung Harbor Service Building Competition, won by Neil Denari of the U.S., the result of a shortlisting procedure, was not built. The fact that the project by RUR was eventually completed—the result of the RUR/Fei & Cheng’s winning entry there—certainly goes back to the collaborative role of those to firms in winning the 2008 Taipei Pop Music Center competition, a collaboration that should not be underestimated in setting the stage for this competition Read more… 
Winning entry ©Herzog de Meuron
In visiting any museum, one might wonder what important works of art are out of view in storage, possibly not considered high profile enough to see the light of day? In Korea, an answer to this question is in the making. It can come as no surprise that museums are running out of storage space. This is not just the case with long established “western” museums, but elsewhere throughout the world as well. In Seoul, South Korea, such an issue has been addressed by planning for a new kind of storage facility, the Seouipul Open Storage Museum. The new institution will house artworks and artifacts of three major museums in Seoul: the Seoul Museum of Modern Art, the Seoul Museum of History, and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art.
Read more… |
