Seoul Design
International Forum
서울디자인국제포럼

Designing for Transition: Transforming Design(ers) for a Sustainable Future

This talk examines the urgent need for a paradigm shift in design education and practice to address the pressing sustainability challenges of our time. The presentation will: Challenge the prevailing anthropocentric worldview in design, advocating for a more holistic approach that considers the interconnectedness of human and natural systems. This shift necessitates moving beyond human-centred design to encompass the needs of all stakeholders, including non-human actors and future generations. Deconstruct the myth of the designer as a singular saviour, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, co-creation, and knowledge sharing across disciplines and sectors. Designers must transition from problem solvers to enablers, empowering communities to participate in the design process and fostering collective ownership of solutions. Highlight the critical need to move beyond short-term, profit-driven design solutions that prioritize immediate gains over long-term sustainability. The talk encourages designers to embrace circular economy principles, particularly the often-overlooked strategy of "refuse," questioning the necessity of new designs and prioritizing reduction, reuse, and regeneration. Explore the expanding role of design beyond traditional boundaries, encompassing not only objects and interfaces but also experiences, services, and systems. The speaker argues that designers, with their unique ability to articulate problems and translate ideas into tangible outputs, are well-positioned to facilitate transformative change across diverse fields. Through compelling examples and practical insights, this talk aims to inspire a design renaissance, urging designers to embrace their agency as changemakers and contribute to building a more just and sustainable future.

Service Design for the Desirable Cities – Smart Living through Design

Until the end of the last century, design had a strong focus on the material environment. In cities, design was concerned with urban planning, architecture, street furniture, signage - to name but a few. This has changed fundamentally in this century. Designers are shaping and innovating public services. They are leading digital transformation. They co-create with citizens and public servants for the benefit of living in desirable cities. Birgit Mager's presentation will show how governments around the world are putting design on their strategic agendas and how service design is shaping these processes, using concrete examples to provide impetus and inspiration.

Invisible Landmark

Chris van Duijn of OMA critically examines the role of landmark architecture in urban contexts, challenging traditional notions of visual expression to advocate for the concept of the “invisible landmark”. Through recent case studies - including the expansion of the Hongik University Seoul Campus and Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux - van Duijn illustrates how landmark projects can enhance a city by prioritizing community engagement, functionality, and flexibility over mere aesthetic statements.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Fashion and Future

Since its conception, the competition winning design of DDP, commemorating Seoul as World Design Capital, has challenged norms architecturally and in its delivery. Inspired by movement and computational fluid dynamics, the design of the DDP tested the capabilities of the construction industry in Korea. Since its completion, DDP has formed an indelible place in the life of the city in centre of Seoul breaking records for visitor numbers. How does DDP operate as a component of cultural infrastructure, a catalyst for cultural transformation, is it successful and what about the future…

The Spirit of Success – Designing the Urban Quality of Life

Nowadays, almost 60 percent of the world's population already lives in cities. By 2050, it will be 75 percent. The city is considered as a model for success. Here, people have access to work, to knowledge, to supplies and to culture. At the same time, the city faces challenges in the 21st century: Sustainable cities between housing and space requirements and sustainable construction. Smart cities between digital services and surveillance. Attractive cities between too much tourism and creative industries. Mayor Oh Se-hoon's decision to apply for the title of “World Design Capital” and to actually be awarded this title in 2010 was an initial spark for Seoul City to be recognised internationally as a design city and a “creative hub”. In addition to an extensive programme in 2010, other important milestones were achieved, such as the construction of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in 2014. In his lecture, Prof. Dr. Peter Zec explains that the city can also be a model for success in the 21st century if it succeeds in raising the population's awareness of design and architecture and in placing Seoul City on the world map of the 25 most important creative metropolises.

Seoul Enhances Urban Aesthetics by Integrating Art Across the City

- Creation of "Attractive Fences" featuring illustrations around long-term construction sites, such as Aeogae Station and the Namsan Gondola project. - Works by renowned illustrators like Subsub, CUNA, and Glory showcased. - Collaboration with L’Oréal Korea to display artworks by disabled artists on the covers of Seoul-style street trash bins. - The city remarked, “We aim to highlight Seoul's charm by incorporating art into urban spaces. Look forward to various street installations at the end of the year and the start of the next.”

Seoul City: Combating Isolation for Single-Person Households through Space Design such as Sharing Warehouses, Community Kitchens, and Creative Workshops

- Development and implementation of <Ma-eum Maru>, a community space aimed at alleviating the sense of isolation among middle-aged and older single-person households. - Charming space design reinterpreting the nostalgic feel of schools; the first location is the Dongdaemun-gu Family Center. - A leisure-oriented community space fostering hospitality, respect, learning, achievement, and loose connections. - Seoul City is committed to building social networks for single-person households … Experience the transformative "power" of space.

'Horizontal Trashcan", easy to dispose and convenient for collection... a makeover as a urban icon

- Seoul pilot installation of 30 horizontal trash cans in 15 urban centers with high foot traffic such as bus stops of City Hall and DDP - Developed design of trash cans such as Type A, which is a simple form, Type B, which has an expression with 'fun' points and specialized types - Evaluate aesthetics, convenience, cleanliness, and ease of collection to improve the design... expanded through autonomous districts - The City expects that "street horizontal trash cans that consider the urban environment and convenience will improve the quality of life of the city"

Seoul transforms 'Runner Station' construction site into MZ Holin's 'attraction fence'

- Works by popular MZ generation artists on display from 3.29~4.14 at the construction site inside Yeouinaru Station - Construction site fence as a FUN space instead of a disconnecting space...Opportunity for emerging artists to participate in public design - Seoul, "Attraction fence that provides daily 'fun' to citizens... Expected to be utilized as an exotic photo spot"

The Innovative City for the Next Generation(the MZ Generation): Advancing Towards Ultra Connectivity and the Real World

This forum is an inspiring time for myself as well. Until now, we carried out discussions under the theme of the types of spaces that can act as the main characters and about relevant humanizing activities. In this session, we will talk about the perspective where we are the protagonists. Do you happen to know this song? ‘I love to play all day. Come join me, all my friends’. Do you know what it is? Yes. It is Pororo. What would have happened if we had children in this space? They would have disappeared as soon as we started because they would have said ‘This is not fun. I’m bored’. When we think back on our childhood, children could play all day long wherever they were as long as they had three things. The three things are playground, toys and friends.

Going Public

`The title of my presentation today is Going Public. This is an expression that is used in the financial industry. It is mentioned when a private company goes public after having attracted funding from the outside. The responsibility of the company grows when it gets listed. Against this backdrop, I would like to apply this to the city and humanizing city. Change in the mindset about the city I think of the change in the mindset about the city as ‘defining’. Going public is also related to creating a city for public interest. We learned a lot about social distancing during the pandemic period. We have returned to our normal lives and we are in the process of adapting to the social interactions once again. We are also actively interacting with the city again. Such interactions are always monitored, modeled and are being relayed. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace. In addition to the socio-economic challenges that are deeply rooted, climate change that could not be seen in the past is having a massive impact on the city. In particular, climate disaster is observed more frequently. Examples being record level heat waves and the rise in sea level and so forth.

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.

From Ideas to Implementation, Transforming Limits into Opportunities in Design

There is a slogan pursued by the design studio, Maum Studio. The slogan is Love, Play and Heart. We emphasize this slogan because Maum Studio believes that ‘ideas are equivalent to stories’. Today, I would like to take the time for us to all resonate about how story-based anecdotes implemented in Maum Studio started small and grew to become bigger. Against this backdrop, I would like to introduce the projects of Maum Studio centering on various keywords.

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.

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.

Urban, Design, and the Spread of Shared Values

Design is emerging as a crucial element in addressing the various challenges faced by modern cities. While design in the past primarily focused on products or visual aspects, contemporary urban design now deals with the architecture, transportation, environment, social issues, public facilities, and spaces of cities from a holistic perspective. This shift has significantly broadened the scope of design, positioning urban design as a central player in enhancing the functionality of cities and the quality of life for their citizens. As urban design evolves, the approaches to improving urban environments are diversifying. Examples such as Copenhagen's bicycle-friendly urban planning and Singapore's ecological urban development illustrate how urban design plays a vital role in boosting the health, convenience, and sustainability of cities. These cases powerfully demonstrate how urban design can contribute to creating healthy urban living environments. However, many issues still need to be addressed, including the design of urban and public spaces, sustainability, social inclusion, digitalization, and policy aspects.

2023 Seoul Design International Forum - <Mind Garden>, a Seoul-style counseling space where you take care of your heart and take care of it with a counselor

Hello, everyone! I'm Jae-in, and I'm working as an online supporter for the 2023 Seoul Design International Forum. The Seoul Design International Forum, held in Seoul on September 14, 2023, is an event that brings together top speakers from world-class designers, architects, and experts to discuss the present and future of Seoul's design that citizens want, under the vision of "Humanizing Cities." The forum focused on the role of public design as an "urban alchemist" who can promote new experiences in the public realm, generate memories, and even drive the city's competitiveness through collective memory. What is public design here, It is a design method to improve everyday life and enhance citizens' convenience and happiness by designing public places, facilities, and environments. It is applied across various areas, such as urban planning, transportation systems, and public facilities, to improve the development of the city and the quality of life of its citizens. Public design creates social values and effects in various aspects based on user-centered principles. This is often done through civic participation and collaboration and is recognized as part of efforts to make the city a more pleasant and sustainable space. I'm very excited about the Seoul Design International Forum in the future. If you want to know more about the Seoul Design International Forum, please check the link below. www.sdif.org

[2023 Seoul Design International Forum] A Space for Rest in the City, 'Yoonseul : Seoul through the Eyes of Manridong' Visit

Hello! I am Yeonwoong, a 2023 Seoul Design International Forum supporter. Before introducing the space, I would like to explain about Seoul Design and Seoul Design International Forum. Seoul Design Seoul Design is a vision for Seoul that responds to the challenges facing the community due to various global issues, and enhances the competitiveness of the city and allows everyone to live a happy life. Seoul Design International Forum Seoul Metropolitan Government has been discussing the present and future of Seoul design that citizens want through the Seoul Design International Forum. At the 2023 Seoul Design International Forum, we discussed how our city, Seoul, is currently being illuminated under the vision of "Human-centered City" with world-class designers, architects, and experts. Furthermore, I believe that this forum can provide insights into the role of public design as a "city alchemist" that stimulates new experiences, creates memories, and even enhances the competitiveness of the city through collective memories in the public realm. Before becoming a supporter, I thought of public design as simply a public place for an unspecified number of people, but through this activity, I was surprised to find that emotions and experiences that I thought could only be felt in prepared spaces such as exhibitions or museums can also be stimulated and create memories in the middle of the city. I felt like I had a new experience, and it was a positive stimulation. *** For more information about the Seoul Design International Forum and Seoul Design, please visit the Seoul Design International Forum website.**