On Apr. 19, the results of the Design Proposal Competition for the Relocation of the Grain Wholesale Market were announced. The Grain Wholesale Market is where middle sellers and distributors meet, and numerous logistics vehicles enter and exit for grain storage, management, and sales. As the Seoul Metropolitan Government planned to create a Yangjae AI R&CD campus on the current Grain Wholesale Market site, it conducted a competition to relocate and renew the current superannuated market. The area of the relocation site is about 8,427m2, which is significantly smaller than the existing one. Therefore, the main point of the competition was to devise a reasonable and comfortable traffic plan for logistics and various users through the efficient use of space. The winning design proposal of Ga.A Architects (principal, Koh Daegon) + Choi Moongyu (professor, Yonsei University) overcomes the limitations of the narrow site and proposes a one-way loading and unloading system that will efficiently and rapidly manage the import, storage, and export of grain by arranging modules in parallel. It was evaluated very highly as a plan that would respond flexibly to future expansions, increase logistics in the Grain Wholesale Market, and consider connectivity with surrounding areas. On the other hand, the façade design of the building was criticised for appearing somewhat normal, and the lack of frontality had to be supplemented. However, the judges agreed that ‘the proposal highlighted the solution of the functional aspect’ and that ‘the insufficient exterior design has potential for future development due to the nature of the proposal competition’.
ⓒGa.A Architects + Choi Moongyu