On May 24, the Presidential Commission on Architectural Policy (PCAP) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MOLIT) held a ceremony to launch the Government-wide Committee on Public Building Design Improvements. There have been many complaints made of public architecture for their standardised design or no consideration made of the convenience of the actual users. Additionally, because public architecture projects are conducted in accordance with the processes set by the government agency responsible, there have been a number of issues that do not guarantee ‘good architecture’, such as the insufficient review of project plans, projects led by non-architecture experts, design bidding focused on costs, and a lack of local government consultations with little or no regard for regional characteristics.
PCAP and MOLIT set out their Public Building Design Improvement Measures at the National Affairs Coordination Conference presided over by the Prime Minister on 18 April. The details include the strengthening capabilities of ordering organisational practice on design planning and coordination, improving project processes to secure good designers and high quality designs, and promoting the practicality of regional development and life SOC projects. The government-wide committee will support and manage Public Building Design Improvement Measures so that they are implemented quickly.
In the short term, trial projects that promote design prestige through the innovation of public architecture processes, including an urban regeneration new deal, the school space innovation project, life SOC projects in cultural, sports, and tourism, the development of agricultural and fishing regions, and the fishing community new deal 300, which all have to be executed smoothly with regular government-wide committee discussions on the details of project execution plans.
Seung Hyo-sang (Chief Commissioner, PCAP) stated that ‘good architecture creates a happy life and good cities create a healthy society’ and ‘various government agencies will work together to make public buildings built with taxpayers money into “good architecture” and ask for the continued support of the people’. <by editorial team>