SPACE May 2025 (No. 690)
Yongsan Children Art Village (tentative name) Design Competition ©Ground architects + Anmadang The Lab + daadaanjo
On Apr. 1, the winning proposal for the Children Art Village (tentative name) Design Competition organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service was announced. The final winning design was a submission by ground architects (principal, Kim Hanjoong) + Anmadang The Lab (co-principals, Oh Hyunju, Lee Bumsoo) + daadaanjo (principal, Kim Daeun), a cultural and arts planning collective. The competition aimed to transform seven existing buildings and an adjacent 14,700m² area within the former Yongsan Garrison site in Seoul, into a public cultural facility targeted at children. The challenge was to creatively repurpose the historically significant buildings into inspiring and functional spaces for children, while maintaining respect for their heritage value. A total of 34 entries were submitted. The five proposals that went on to the second stage presented a range of approaches, from those prioritising preservation to those suggesting more active interventions. Differences also emerged in the degree of architectural and landscape transformation and the arrangement of indoor and outdoor spatial relationships. The winning design focuses on ‘children rediscovering the world through the lens of art’, which was inspired by the free movement of children playing. It was praised for organically linking interior and exterior spaces through a combination of linear bridges and curvilinear forms, and for creating hands-on experiential zones tailored to children’s perspectives.
