Living Environment
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Asking about the past, present, and future of cities. [2023 Seoul Design International Forum, Humanising Cities:Human•Design•City] Inside the lively scene!
Hello! I am Miyeon Kim, a supporter of the 2023 Seoul Design International Forum. Do you know about Seoul Design (www.sdif.org) and the Seoul Design International Forum? Seoul Design is a vision for Seoul that responds to the challenges facing the community due to various global issues, enhances the competitiveness of the city, and allows everyone to live a happy life. Seoul Design also aims to: - Develop creative and sustainable design solutions to solve the various problems that people face in their daily lives, creating a safe, convenient, and sustainable urban environment. - Lead the world's cities through design that reflects innovative technologies and the city's unique characteristics. - Increase the number of distinctive design contents in everyday life, satisfying the emotions of citizens and providing impressive experiences to drive the city's attractiveness. - Be a design community in which many people, including experts, industry, and citizens, participate and discuss together. Last year, the 2022 Seoul Design International Forum was held under the theme of "How Design Enrichs the Future." This year, it was held under the theme of "Humanising Cities:Human•Design•City" Under the vision of a human-centered city, we looked back on how Seoul was illuminated and shared our opinions to increase the competitiveness of the city. The Seoul Design International Forum, which is held every year based on the Seoul design I introduced earlier! It was held face-to-face for the first time in four years since COVID-19, with expert speakers from all over the world, and we vividly captured the scene! -
The Innovative City for the Next Generation(the MZ Generation): Advancing Towards Ultra Connectivity and the Real World
Space defines an experience. At a café, we drink a beverage. In a museum, we see exhibits. People have the same experience at a specific space and sometimes need to stand in a long line. No one think this is weird. On the other hand, for spaces in a movie or a video game we enjoy on a daily basis, a content defines an experience. The main character may stay in a space where a fantasy adventure unfolds or where characters play cat and mouse with each other in a spectacular event. The same space can be a world where so many stories turn into reality. What would happen if the two worlds are merged into one? What would happen if our world turns into a huge playground and all of us become main characters of an exciting story? What would happen if you can share the experience you have had in a movie or a video game with people in a real world? To prove these hypotheses, I would like to guide you to a space which was once an unattractive neighborhood filled with factories and vehicles but is now a must-go place for MZ generation, and a space where once dull and inactive places have become popular spots for a lot of visitors and even a city-wide festival. -
Going Public
The public realm is not a default condition, but rather something which must be actively produced, designed, and constructed. How we design it has the capacity to transform how we identify ourselves as part of a collective society, how we form common values and common ground, and how the notion of “the public” is constituted—to design for the public realm is also to design a public through that realm. Today, it is a site of overlapping constituencies, interests and stakeholders that create a layered set of complex interests constantly in negotiation. Because design is inherently specific, we value this specificity to make meaning, engage audiences, and create place. In this lecture, J. Meejin Yoon will present projects that address the public realm as a site of negotiation and formation, where placemaking, activation and design intersect to produce the “urban alchemy” of the contemporary city. This lecture will demonstrate how design has the capacity to engage the public and transform the public realm. -
Design Seoul 2.0 Design Policy and Future Strategies
What projects does the Seoul Metropolitan Government pursue to create a ‘fun and vibrant city of Seoul’? The Seoul Metropolitan Government is actively pursuing the 「Design Seoul 2.0 Project」 in its endeavor to establish ‘Seoul as a fun and vibrant city’. This comprehensive plan focused on propelling Seoul into a top 5 global city characterized by an abundance of vitality and charm. The objective is to create a city that is cherished by global citizens, a city where the creativity of its citizens is fully realized, and a city that adheres to global standards while preserving Seoul’s unique identity. To achieve this vision, ‘Active Seoul’ is based on five principles which are empathetic, inclusive, contribution, resilient, and sustainable design. The following is an overview of project initiatives. ① Empathetic design that feels pride and pleasure in the uniqueness of Seoul. ② Inclusive design for everyone. ③ Contribution design created by citizens and businesses together. ④Resilient design responsible for the safety and health of citizens. ⑤ Sustainable design that saves the environment and economy. Further details of the project will be outlined based on these five principles. -
From Ideas to Implementation, Transforming Limits into Opportunities in Design
An inclusive city through practical design solutions With plummeting global population, we are heading toward an era where people establish their own worldviews. Wouldn’t we be able to embrace the city we are living in today a little more if we realize our ideas into practice and talk about the warmth of the world? Let’s talk about the seven key words of love, memory, enjoyment, respect, imagination, value, and nature. -
Role of Design: Assist Co-existence of People / Environment / Technology
In a rapidly changing technology era, and in a world where online and offline experiences are interconnected, what kind of role should design play in providing experiences for users, such as citizens, members, clients? Let’s discuss the role through space/architecture cases of NAVER. I will introduce to you several cases regarding the company’s office space “NAVER 1784,” training center “Connect One” in Chuncheon, and data centers in Chuncheon and Sejong each, all of which are outcomes of the following: connection of convergence technologies and users; enhanced user experiences; contemplation on the environment and alternatives; and study on roles and responsibilities of businesses. -
Design for All: A Visit to the Pedestrian Pathways in Olympic Park
What is Seoul Design? Seoul Design is a design version of Seoul that increases the competitiveness of the city and allows anyone to lead a happy life in response to the challenges faced by the community due to various global issues. To solve various problems encountered in everyday life, we develop creative and sustainable design solutions to create a safe, convenient, and win-win urban environment. Using public design technology, we are leading the world city through innovative technologies and designs that reflect the unique characteristics of the city, and forming a design community that is considered together by many experts, industries, and citizens. As a student majoring in architectural engineering, I think the public design and the Seoul design policy of Seoul City around us are valuable resources that make life convenient for many citizens. -
In the DDP where the Seoul Design International Forum was held, let's feel Seoul's own public design!!
The Seoul Design International Forum is held annually, and last year, the 2022 Seoul Design International Forum was held under the theme "DESIGN x Seoul: How Design Enrichs the Future." The SDIF Seoul Design International Forum offers insights on how various designs and designs can be combined with municipalities such as welfare, culture, and transportation to strategically promote collaboration within an organization and advance the overall level of service in a municipal administration. -
A city that everyone wants to visit and live in - Design Seoul 2.0
It is quite interesting that the English word ‘space’, which means ‘universe’, also means space. For a long time, philosophers have also interpreted the universe as one of ‘space.’ If the place commonly referred to as ‘space’ is not limited to places with physical walls or boundaries such as houses, schools, offices, and cafes, then ‘cities’ can also be seen as the space in which we live. In that respect, urban design is close to spatial design in a broad sense. Because we all live within the city, setting boundaries and stepping on the land. The appearance of various parts of the city is also the appearance of our space and the way we live. -
Seoul Metropolitan Government creates the “Yard for Centenarians” at welfare service centers and parks near homes for daily prevention of dementia
- Development of a spacial design for physical, emotional and social activities of senior citizens to prepare for prolonged pandemic and super-aged society - Applied to Songpa Senior Welfare Service Center for the first time, 200㎡ scale construction…Mayor Oh Se-hoon will visit the site on the 13th - Exercise equipment to strengthen muscles for performing daily activities, emotional healing area, e.g., gardening and exhibition, social exchange area, e.g., stage and games - An “age-friendly environment,” where people can gain access and live long and healthy in their living areas…Four additional yards by next March -
Public Space and Design for Everyday Lives of Citizens
City is an inevitable space of life for the modern people. The skyline that we are currently experiencing, the plaza, parks, natural environments and so forth are mostly the result of the city plan that was systemized in the past, and until now, the urban space was planned to play its role in line with the usage that was planned and defined based on function. Various parts of cities that achieved industrial competitiveness by prioritizing efficiency and economics is far from ‘user-centric approaches’ and achieving ‘sustainability’ that is the focus of today’s society. Future city should be restructured into a space that can enable exchange and circulation based on the needs and the thoughts of citizens or stakeholders of local communities, and aged spaces and the environment should be improved to resolve urban issues. -
Resource Circulation of the City and Sustainable Design
The life system of today’s humanity is the result of economic growth, and problems that major cities face are mainly focused on areas that can be resolved by technological advancement and economic growth, such as poverty and illness. However rapid growth and advancement across the globe led to qualitative diversification of urban issues, and the humanity focused on the concept of sustainable development and limit in growth resulting from social imbalance and unsustainable phenomenon that are being observeds regardless of region. The concept of sustainability was first mentioned in the report, The Limits to Growth written by the Club of Rome in 1972. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED,1987) defined ‘sustainability’ as ‘development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’, and it is recently being used broadly across economic, management, climate, environmental and national policies and private activities. -
Design for Public Service Platform
1. Digital platform of public service Public service based on digital platform is emerging as the most important factor in the competitiveness of a nation and a city. In 2020, Korea ranked 8th in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking announced by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, which was a 2-step rise from 10th position in 2019, to show its potential in the digital field. Also, in the government index announced by OECD, Korea is exhibiting strength and performance in digital-based public service by achieving 1st place in digital by design government, 2nd place in government as a platform, 3rd place in data-driven government, 1st place in open by default government, 4th place in user driven government and 12th place in proactiveness of government. Seoul is also making efforts to drive innovation in public service based on excellent digital infrastructure, and moreover, there is a demand to resolve problems in a way that can be felt by our citizens and achieve transformation in terms of creating sustainable and real values. -
Public Design Governance
Last month, a “Consultative Group of Residents for Publilc Design” was established by Seongdong-gu District Office. It was the nation’s first consultative body in design that engaged residents and consisted of eight residents, four expert members, two design experts and one public officer. Through the consultative group, the district was able to quickly collect residents’ opinions about relevant projects including the one related to public design and combined experts’ advice thereby setting a direction for design. It was designed to become a channel to communicate with the residents. In today’s multifaceted and complex modern society, existing design process that produces an outcome by utilizing intuitive ideas of only few designers has often turned out to be insufficient to meet the needs of the citizens. In response, this has shed a light on the need to come up with an innovative method to engage citizens, cooperate with stakeholders and experts for higher level of self-reliance and sustainability. The word “public” in public design means an unspecified number of the general public and together, which incorporates a value of engaging various players and cooperating in the process to create a design intended for everyone. The strategy that is being used to realize the afore-mentioned value of public design is a governance taking a perspective of “various methods for problem-solving.” -
Universal Design City Paradigm for a Better Urban Future
The term “Universal Design” is a philosophy about “designing for everyone”, which means designing products, buildings, cities, information, services, etc. to be used by as many as users as possible in a safe and equitable manner, regardless of users’ gender, age, language, status of disability, level of knowledge, etc. -
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. -
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. -
Policy direction identified from the analysis of the diffusion process of Life Safety (Crime Prevention) Design
The anonymous cities that we have been building allowed us to have maximum freedom and make various choices, however, inappropriately, the cities have mercilessly reduced many alternative choices such as collective community action that were available in the past. Only for the limited purpose of reviving the collective environment, physical design of living environment must be used.