Seoul Design
International Forum
서울디자인국제포럼

Public design for people, cooperative public design

Design has always evolved as a meaningful means to achieve an objective or a part that is required in the society. Currently, active efforts are being made to resolve the issues of economy, environment and safety through design. In the recent times where we are transcending the era of industrialization to usher in the era of sustainability, design that improves the competitive industrial products is beginning to contribute to our society as design that improves public values as a part of the strategy to resolve problems from the perspective that design is changing in line with the demand of the society. ‘Public design’ is playing a leading role at the center, and from now on, 'design' will resolve a considerable number of issues that our society will face, and it will be making various contributions as a cultural pillar of life.

Architect as social innovator

This presentation focuses on the projects led by MVRDV, a self-declared social innovators group, to explore how architecture can function as a tool for social innovation. In cities we live in, there are many conflicting values such as natural elements versus artificial factors, the desire to concentrate intensely versus the desire to keep some distance, and physical architectural spaces versus people who use the spaces. MVRDV believes that we can move beyond the dichotomy of conflicts and leverage creative design to drive social innovation.

Public design to enrich people's lives

The design for human life requires insights into intrinsic values. To fulfill this mission, the GK Design Group, which consists of companies specialized in 12 diverse fields, has operated as a comprehensive design creative group celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. With six offices in Japan and six overseas, a diverse and devoted group of 200+ designers with creativity and expertise are teaming up in a total of 12 bases and cross-functioning on different projects with their corresponding design capabilities to provide comprehensive design. Since urban environment design involves many more elements to consider than other areas, we carry out urban environment or public space design projects by collaborating on six areas: product, transportation, environment, communication, design strategy, and engineering to create integrated values and design.

Contents table of 2022 Seoul Design International Forum

Contents table of 2022 Seoul Design International Forum

Opening Speech - Director-General of Design Policy Bureau, Choi In-Kyu

I would like to first extend my gratitude to the speakers at home and abroad who prepared for the Seoul Design International Forum which is in its third year this year and to all citizens participating online. Thank you all.

Welcome Speech - Mayor, Oh Se-Hoon

Hello, I'm Seoul mayor, Oh Se-hoon. I would like to express my gratitude and welcome to domestic and overseas speakers who are participating in Seoul Design International Forum 2022 and the citizens who are watching online.

Cities, Design, and the Future

In 1999, the Clinton administration proposed the ‘Livable Communities’ initiative and emphasized the quality of life as an urban competitiveness. Cities that are ‘great to live in’ or ‘appealing to live in’ are without a doubt one of the policy priorities of all local governments and citizens. However, compared to the previous practice in which the policies focused on a materialized life in the physical space of a city, the ‘quality of life’ is an abstract concept that is perceived differently by people. Thus, forming policy agenda around the idea may not be so simple. Instead of focusing on the physical concept of a city, drawing attention to residents and understanding communities as a group of people who reside in a city are crucial when it comes to the dialogue on the quality of life in cities. In this sense, it’s important for residents to identify themselves as agents of living and active participants who plan their own lives.

Life Design for Well-Leaving through Well-Living

Life design for well-leaving through well-living is a very significant theme for all of us to understand. Through this presentation, I would like to share my personal experience regarding care design at the final stage of life and further discuss how such design can be proposed as a policy

Panel-discussion

The Seoul Design International Forum is being held under the theme of ‘How does design enrich our future?’. Presentations in the forum explained the issues of the urban environment that we face from various perspectives and proposed countermeasures. We will now have a panel discussion to hear the opinions our panels based on the contents that were presented today.

‘Design x Seoul’, the Role of Design in the Public Administration of Seoul City

This year’s Seoul Design International Forum is held under the theme of ‘Design x Seoul’. The underlying idea is that when the design is incorporated into the city of Seoul where we live, our citizens will have greater exposure to joyful, enriching experiences. A city that gives its citizens the joy of life – what does it look like? We feel happier in a pleasant place where everyone is respected and can share quality time together.

Using architecture to design shared ecosystems

Humans are linear social animals, who have great interest in each other as well as many other places. Gehl has been pursuing human-centered designs for a very long time. As we are faced with climate change and various social issues, we recognized the increasing significance of relational resilience, and that the relationships between humans, animals, nature, plants, and the environment are important. In this context, our work and approach are grounded in connectivity, kindness, courtesy, and a dignified experience for all, and examples can be found all over the world. Just as you dine or have a drink with friends on public benches and small tables to take a rest, small but generous gestures and designs for the public end up providing connectivity and kindness for all.

Creating shared value through the responsible design of dynamic systems

In times like these, design is more valuable and important than ever. The complexity and uncertainty around us continues to accelerate at unprecedented speed. There are global racial tensions and reconing, interrogations of every aspect of our businesses, new wars, new political leaders, and of course the global pandemic that shifted everything around us—it has been a shock to the system, to all of our systems. How quickly and thoughtfully we can evolve our organizations in responsive and regenerative ways, the better we will be able to navigate these challenging times. In this presentation, I would like to introduce global design firm IDEO and then talk through large-scale system design cases by using a human-centered lens focused on the creation of shared value.

3rd Pre-forum for 2022 Seoul Design International Forum Part3

TALK 3. Value of the public design shaped together with citizens

3rd Pre-forum for 2022 Seoul Design International Forum Part2

TALK 2. Values in daily lives that were changed by the public design

3rd Pre-forum for 2022 Seoul Design International Forum Part1

TALK 1. Value of custom public design that is easy to understand and is convenient

2022 SDIF_Promo Video

2022 SDIF_Promo Video

SIDF 2022_Forum registration

Warmest greetings from Seoul, Korea! We cordially invite you to join 2022 Seoul Design International Forum to be live-streamed at 13:00-18:00 on October 5, 2022(KST). Click here to convert the time and date of the forum into your time zone.

Seoul Design International Forum 2022

Based on the vision to “Create Value through Design,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government implements its various design policies ranging from the macro plans for landscape to the micro plans for service improvement. To ensure that citizens can fully savor the attractiveness of natural environment and spaces across the city and enjoy thoughtful care and respect, the role of design in the future society will be even greater. This forum held with the theme, “DESIGN x Seoul : How Does Design Enrich Our Future,” will learn how design serves as an engine for enhancing values of cities through various examples of cities. Also, it will review how citizens in those cities enjoy these value.