SPACE April 2025 (No. 689)
The Dokebi Platform amidst the dense urban fabric of Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu. In contrast to the crowded surroundings, it presents a calm, white appearance.
Merchants busy carrying their loads, an elderly woman picking out fresh spring vegetables, thick smoke rising from a large pot, and a bicycle zigzagging between them all—the Dokebi Platform is located in the bustling crowds of Dokkaebi Market at Banghak-dong. A white box sits quietly on top of an existing public parking facility, set within this noisy backdrop, offering something like the shade of a tree on the side of the road and attracting the gaze of those coming and going below. Plot Architects (co-principals, Kim Myoungjae, Choi Yeojin) share their insights and thoughts on the transformative potential of public facilities, as spaces that exist everywhere and are open to everyone.
interview Kim Myoungjae, Choi Yeojin co-principals, Plot Architects × Youn Yaelim
The Dokebi Platform, renovated from the public parking facility of the Dokkaebi Market
Youn Yaelim (Youn): The Dokebi Platform project was initiated in response to the 2022 ‘Seoul Breathe Space Competition for Leisure Spaces’, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG). It was an open call for ideas, where any publicly accessible space in Seoul, such as streets, parking lots, parks, riversides, and the interior or exterior of public buildings, could serve as a potential site for new construction. In this sense, selecting the site itself was a significant part of the project. What led you to discover Banghak-dong in Dobong-gu as your project location?
Kim Myoungjae, Choi Yeojin (Kim, Choi): The competition was part of a SMG’s initiative to create a space for its citizens, aiming to discover accessible public areas and to propose suitable designs for these spaces. We chose Banghak-dong as our site because of our previous experience working in Dobong-gu as ‘village architects’ on a similar project. Although it doesn’t exist anymore, SMG once assigned village architects to each district to advise on and plan local spatial policies, with the goal of improving small-scale public facilities closely tied and attuned the daily lives of residents. One of the tasks of these village architects was to discover spaces that needed improvement and to seek new values within them. The idea for the Dokebi Platform took shape during that time. While surveying various parts of Dobong-gu,
we recognised the potential of the public parking facility at the Dok...
