Cases
-
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.” -
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. -
Designing Safety Content That You Want to Keep It on Your Desk
It is no coincidence that when some major safety incident occurs is when most people take an interest in safety. When an individual pays particular attention to safety in daily life, it is because some accident or incident has motivated them to do so. While the type of content that can be easily accessed through smartphones is becoming more diverse and complete, it makes us wonder if the safety of our society is changing. It makes us wonder if safety measures are competitive. The Safety Design Research Institute ‘Osafe’ started from this question. “How can we keep people safe?” “Isn’t it possible to prevent unexpected safety accidents in advance? “ “If there is an unavoidable safety accident, what can be done to minimize the damage?” Osafe works based on a design methodology. In order to be chosen by modern people who live busy lives, we are working hard to produce and share safety content that can stand out, have fun, and form a consensus.
-
2020 Seoul Design International Forum - Universal Design
2020 서울디자인국제포럼 -
Diffusion of Universal Design Culture: Seoul Universal Design Award
The SMG was the first public institution to promote industries related to universal design by establishing the Seoul Universal Design Award (SUDA) and holding its first public contest in 2021. -
Seoul Universal Design 100
The concept of urban design that we share today can be found at the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty when Great Monk Muhak planned the city by applying the philosophy of Yin and Yang Five Phases at the time, while looking at Hanyang Land with Lee Seong-gye. The traces of urban design that began in this way entered modern times and established an image of a city that combines the past and the present, and we can see traces of this urban design in old palaces, and walls throughout the city. These days, the urban landscape around us remains in the past only, or there are misleading examples of creating a desolate forest of buildings without harmonizing with nature in a biased appearance with only modern beauty. As a city is a place where various people live together, the design should also be created by various people. The most important thing here is the citizens, the actual 'users' of the city. Changes in urban design can begin with the question "How did you consider city users?"
-
What is the significance of the brand called Seoul to you?
Portland, New York, or Berlin Personally, I have never been to Portland. However, since a few years ago, lifestyles that is known as ‘YOLO life’, and ‘Kinfolk life’ have emerged, and Portland, was mentioned as one of the representative cities. Portland was perceived to be a city that acknowledges open mindsets and lives, as well as one that is filled with a feeling of relaxation while being a little slow, and not a city that is artificially made and attempts are made for improvements and change. Of course, this is the result of successful city branding. This is why I am treasuring the Portland mask that I received as a gift from an acquaintance who recently visited Portland. Another keyword that is currently being mentioned as much as ‘design’ is ‘branding’. Branding is a topic that is widely used and with importance almost at the level that it can be applied from branding products to corporations, and from individuals to cities and countries. This proves that it is not something that simply ends after having experienced and consumed it, but there is a growing interest and understanding about who I am, what I am consuming or experiencing, and for what purpose. Thus, the example of Portland that I just mentioned before is very strong even if it is a small experience. Our experience in recalling a certain image, brand or a representative spot immediately after hearing the name of a certain city like New York, Berlin, Milano, Davos, or London is the result of city branding (whether we are conscious of it or not). Seoul Design International Forum that was held through Zoom on March 31st was both timely and appropriate in that ‘city brand’ was chosen as the design paradigm. In the forum that was held under the theme of ‘Design trend and direction of policy’, ‘Value of Experience Design in City Brand’, in particular, (Speaker: CEO Choi So-hyun of Perception) triggers us to think about what is required for ‘city branding’ while pointing out the context and meaning of city brand to us, in the current times, where there is a deluge of ‘branding’. -
We Solve Problems Around Us on Our Own! (2)
When a case of a child abuse is reported, the abused child is separated from parents, needs to wait at a police precinct or police station to undergo an investigation and has to live in a child protection agency. During this process, the child feels uneasy and stressed by unfamiliar spaces and people. In addition, the child may feel the guilt of causing this situation by his or her own fault. “Hoya Toto” was devised as a solution to resolve the anxiety of abused children in the unfamiliar environment by forming a bond with police officers. -
The Change of Daily Life, Social Problem Solving Design in Seoul
Paradigm change in public design and the emergence of social problem-solving design Seoul is the political, economic, social and cultural center of Korea. Korea industrialized in a short period of time due to a period of rapid economic growth that is sometimes called the ‘miracle on the Han River’. Although the brand value of Seoul might have risen, has the quality of life of citizens improved along with it?
-
Role of Design: Assist Co-existence of People / Environment / Technology
I am Choi So-hyun, and I am in charge of design and marketing, and space and architecture at Naver. After hearing the presentation of the two previous speakers, Thomas Heatherwick and Shigeru Ban, I could also feel the excitement and tremor as a designer. I would like to talk about the theme of ‘Design that aids in coexistence of people, environment and technology’. I am confident that instead of being fearful of technology we can use technology to resolve the issues that we are facing and design can also play a critical role in a rapidly changing society. I hope you will think about what sort of work you do and the perspective you have as you sit here. You are here as urban planners but you are also probably here as residents of the city. Why don’t we think about how you want to live? I think you may find different answers depending on the individual contexts. Let me continue my talk with these questions in mind. Now, I will introduce you to various spaces of Naver. I hope that these various spaces of Naver will be a clue or a solution when you are looking for your own answers in your respective places. -
Universal design of Yokohama City Current events in design
The evolution of universal design in Japan Yokohama City is an area with a population of 3.77 million. Its area is about three quarters of Seoul, and it is divided into 18 wards. It started with a population of 500 150 years ago, and after the port was established, the population increased. However, the rapid population increase between 1960 and 1970 caused problems in urban development. Yokohama is currently a city with a significant aging population. Although this is a problem for Japan as a whole, based on the analyzed data, the population growth trend of Yokohama City is expected to peak in 2019. After that, the proportion of the elderly population is expected to continue to increase, and it is expected that one-third of the total population will be elderly by 2030. Looking at the map showing the aging population, it is like looking at the history of how Yokohama's housing development has taken place. The beginning of universal design in Japan was triggered by the Tokyo Olympics 50 years ago. The Tokyo Olympics, held in 1964, introduced the use of pictograms to solve the problem of communicating with foreigners. In 1965, Braille blocks were introduced, and actual installation began in 1967. In 1969, awareness of the need to make the city accessible to wheelchairs increased. Braille blocks were first introduced in the provincial cities to the western part of japan, which is also the case with barrier-free access in Japan, which started in provincial cities rather than the capital. -
Multi-faceted Valuation of Social Problem Solving Design: Focused on the Case of Seoul
In the past, public design was understood as an urban environment, building, appearance, and landscape-oriented design activity, but today's social problems are much more complex, personal, and diverse. Therefore, attention is being paid to the necessity and importance of solving social problems in various areas, and in the past, space, reliability, and expertise were emphasized, so expert-centered solutions were attempted, but now residents, who have social problems, are approaching them. Citizens' participation is becoming very important because the residents know the problem best and it is something that should be applied after solving the problem together. This trend has been specified in both the public design promotion plans and the legal aspect, and has already stipulated many changes. In keywords such as development, physical environment, and top-down processes that appeared in the past, cooperation and service-side software are emphasized, and most importantly, the process is led by the people on problems that occur in our daily lives. Now, social issues are shifting toward regenerating existing communities rather than creating new buildings.
-
[2023 Seoul Design International Forum] A Visit to Hwamok Senior Welfare Center: A Space That Warms the Heart
Hello! I am Geum Ye-hyun, who was selected as a Seoul Design International Forum supporter. Have you heard of “Seoul Design”? Today, our community is facing various challenges due to various global issues. Seoul Design refers to Seoul's design vision to respond to these challenges, enhance the city's competitiveness, and allow everyone to enjoy a happy life. The main activities to implement the vision are to first develop creative and sustainable design content to solve various problems encountered in everyday life, creating a safe, convenient, and sustainable urban environment. It also increases the number of distinctive design contents in everyday life, providing memorable experiences to citizens to lead them to a charming city, and ultimately leading the city to the global world network. If so, let's find out what kind of discussions the Seoul Design International Forum will be having to drive the charm of the city. -
Design 2.0 Design Policy and Future Strategies
I am honored to be speaking with Thomas Heatherwick and Shigeru Ban and I think the interesting designs of Lee Dal-woo was a good stimulus. I will. I will now think again about the actions to be taken by a big city like Seoul Metropolitan Government. My presentation will be about the fun city with vitality, Seoul. I will be presenting in the order of 5 Vision Principles that were carried out. -
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.
-
Universal Design Development Direction
Jongno Welfare Center for the Disabled opened in June 2012 and the building has four stories. The cneter has a higher proportion of the deaf and visually impaired users than other welfare centers, as the 100-year-old Seoul National Blind School and the Seoul National Agricultural School are right next to it. In addition, according to the user distribution survey in 2013 showed that users were distributed evenly from children to adults. In this discussion, the six construction guidelines for welfare centers are explained, and you can see how carefully they thought about them. -
Universal Design for Health Care Facilities
[Start of Universal Design at Eunpyeong Hospital in Seoul] The perception of the psychiatric ward is not positive - not only does it bear the social stigma of a dangerous disease, but also the medical environment surrounding the ‘mentally disabled’. Psychiatric facilities are often underdeveloped, and while things may be changing, the doctor-patient relationship is often one-way, with the patient seen only as the ‘recipient’. -
The Direction of the Design in The Age of New Normal ‘To Empathize with Costumers and Design New Connections through Design Thinking’
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social systems that operated through human connections fell into sudden stagnation. The free and flexible daily life of citizens was controlled and limited, and the operating speed of the existing system was significantly lowered, increasing the inconvenience and difficulties of citizens. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis that no one expected and could not prepare for, members of society are showing some results by designing and implementing devices that can promote social connection in order to break through the disconnection and resulting inefficiency. It is necessary to think about the impact of these attempts on the lives of citizens and the sustainability of these connections.
-
Generative Social Distance Design: The Optimisation of Building Layouts for COVID-19
Social Distancing Lab Project I would like to talk about the ‘Social Distance Research Institute’ project, which ended about three months ago. Former Senator Ted. Kennedy said, “What divides us pales in comparison to what unites us.” As I worked on a technical research project centered on isolating people during an epidemic, I personally hoped that the shared experience could revitalize the community and rekindle a sense of social cohesion. What is social distancing and how does it affect transmission? The prevailing view of the modern scientific community is that maintaining human-to-human distance is an important factor in reducing the rate of respiratory cross-contamination. The principle of air transmission is that droplets are emitted when people talk to each other or cough, and if people who are within 2 meters of each other inhale it, it is easy to be directly infected with the virus. Therefore, reducing the distance between people increases the risk of infection, and almost all countries have been able to directly reduce the number of deaths by introducing social distancing measures. These statistical data indicate that social distancing measures were effective in reducing the number of confirmed deaths, which is a result showing that social distancing is a key response to the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the global economy, not just on human life. -
The Social Role of Architects
I started building residence and residential spaces related to disasters, because I started thinking that, maybe in the past, I was designing for the privileged class. Because there are cases where people with wealth and authority will construct buildings and structures to visualize and show off their wealth and authority that is not tangible to the human eyes. That made me think that I should be constructing structures for the public and that is why I started building architectures in disaster sites. Of course, it is not bad to build architectures for the former. But we do need to think further about this. There are cases where developers and construction companies are pleased about new projects that may emerge when there is a disaster. However, the victims would of the disaster would be suffering a lot. That is why I thought that social role of an architect would like in supporting refugees of disasters. -
New Challenges in City Design to Post-COVID
At a time when the world is thinking about the form of cities to come after Corona, we need to think about how cities should be constructed from a more comprehensive perspective. In addition to the challenges triggered by the coronavirus, the problem of climate change, which must be approached from a particularly long-term perspective, is an area that cannot be prevented or treated, and is a topic that needs to be found through continuous problem-solving, dialogue, and discussion. How should we respond to the problem of climate change that all cities face in the future and must solve in the long term? We would like to discuss six issues on climate change to be announced at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
-
Humanising our Cities
We are passionate about the environment and the buildings that surround us. I believe we are living in a very interesting era in the history. We actually have choices (rather than not having them). We can achieve very interesting transitions, if we were to make choices. However, such transformation cannot be achieved with the developers or the architects alone. We can only accomplish such changes when we all talk about buildings and the structures together. -
Impact and evaluation in designing social innovation
What is the most important agenda in social innovation design? This island metaphor (image) is useful to think about designing. This metaphor helps us to pay attention to both the visible things at the surface, like design products, materials, methods and technologies, and also the invisible things under the water, like values, behaviours, mindsets and worldviews. Designing is a way to make what is invisible under the water, visible. For designing that pursues social outcomes, it is very important to pay attention to people’s values, behaviours, mindsets and worldviews under the water, and undertake designing that materalises what people regard as valuable outcomes for their social well-being. When designing social innovation, this also means listening to local communities and residents, and understanding what matters to them that may be invisible, under the water, and collaborating with them to materialize those values as outcome of designing. There are various tools, methods and approaches in design that are used to achieve those social outcomes together. -
Universal Design in the Era of Digital Transformation - Creating a World for All Digital Transformation for Universal Design - Inclusive World
Unlike in the past, the concept of 'disability' is today recognized in accordance with aspects of information accessibility and social context. Many problems can be solved through technology. If accessibility is not considered continuously while creating a new environment, people will feel new disabilities, and to prevent this, accessibility, interaction, and cultural change must be considered. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Just as in the past Microsoft made it easy for people to access information and the Internet through PCs, its direction now is to help people achieve more than ever before through technology. In terms of increasing the accessibility of information by providing software services to all organizations and everyone, it can be seen that this is in line with the purpose of universal design. When we approach the concept of disability, we think of individual health and physical condition first, but disability differs from general interactions and does not represent physical characteristics or health conditions. Of the many people with disabilities, 70% are visually impaired. In addition, in the United States, about 26,000 people each year have a permanent disability due to bodily injury, and some suffer temporary discomfort due to injury. Therefore, since disability is not determined and applicable by physical conditions, but can be experienced temporarily or contextually, design should be developed and services should be prepared according to these situational criteria. There are over 1 billion people with disabilities on the planet. On top of this, as we are entering an aging society, in the future, more people may face a situation in which they need to work in a different environment or access information. Therefore, accessibility should be considered from a long-term perspective. Microsoft has already developed accessibility and high-contrast screen features in Windows since the early days of Windows in 1990, and will continue to do so in the future.