The Seoul Metropolitan Government has revealed the five winning designs for the international architectural planing and design competition of the Yeouido Park 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, South Korea. 

Melike Altınışık Architects (MAA) & BAUM Architects & Aliveus Landscape, Durig AG, DMP Architects and Viron, Heerim Architects and Zaha Hadid Architects & ULD Studio are among the winning teams for the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

Melike Altınışık Architects' winning proposal. Image © Melike Altınışık Architects

On March 18 2023, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced an international competition to transform the Yeouido Park, which is known as a downtown area, into a cultural park in the city centre.

The competition brief aimed to change the existing status of Yeouido into a global finance center, and during this process, Seoul intented to work with Yongsan-gu to transform Yeouido Park, which has separated the eastern and western parts of Yeouido. 

The city planned to "change Seoul’s landscape by building waterfront landmarks with innovative designs along the Han River."

Zaha Hadid Architects' winning design. Image © Zaha Hadid Architects

The evaluation of the five winning designs was based on the "feasibility of building a landmark that represents Seoul based on the required use and area." 

The 2nd Sejong Center will house a 2,000-seat concert hall, a 400-seat concert hall, as well as food and beverage facilities and culture and education spaces for citizens and visitors coming from the Seoul Port, which will be built in Yeouido in the future.

For the future plans, the city also plans to transform the urban space structure of Yeouido itself. "The city aims to restructure and integrate Yeouido’s urban spaces, which have been separated by roads and parks. As such, the plan will also include an underground pedestrian passage network connected to the Yeouido Transfer Center," according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's website.

DMP Architects and Viron's winning proposal. Image © DMP Architects and Viron

The 2nd Sejong Centre for the Performing Arts in Yeouido Park is a leading project of the "Great Han River" initiative, which is being pursued to enhance the urban functions of Seoul with a focus on the Han River. 

To improve the landscape along the Han River and enhance the city's competitiveness, a planning and design competition has been conducted with the goal of establishing a creative and innovative landmark design along the river. 

Durig AG's winning proposal. Image © Durig AG

Since the competition requires creative and innovative design, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is planning a design competition in the first half of 2025 as the first phase to establish a business plan by defining an appropriate project cost to carry out the full design service.

After that phase, the city government intends to establish a business plan through a consultation process consisting of various experts and will collect public opinions from citizens, and will continue its business plan after going through step-by-step administrative procedures, according to local newspaper Korea Posts¹. 

Heerim Architects' winning proposal. Image © Heerim Architects

On September 8th, 2023, the selected five teams will attend a Public Forum in Seoul City Hall to materialize the direction of the competition.

Afterwards the preliminary procedures such as central investment review is planned to be completed during 2024, in which the design competition will be announced. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to announce the winner of the design competition for the first half of 2025. The city aims to break the ground in 2026.

According to local source, Korea Posts, the 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Planning and Design Competition attracted out of a total of 55 works, and five works were selected as winning designs, following an expert screening. 

The five selected teams will each receive 80 Million KRW ($59,712,91) in prize money.

1. Korea Posts (2023), The 2nd Sejong Center for the Performing Arts ‘Blueprint’ Design Contest 5 winning works revealed. (20 August, 2023). Retrieved on August 22, 2023 from (https://korea.postsen.com/local/203153/The-2nd-Sejong-Center-for-the-Performing-Arts-%E2%80%98Blueprint%E2%80%99-Design-Contest-5-winning-works-revealed.html). 

Top image in the article (from left to right): Melike Altınışık Architects' winning proposal (© Melike Altınışık Architects), DMP Architects and Viron's winning proposal (© DMP Architects and Viron), Durig AG's winning proposal (© Durig AG), Heerim Architects' winning proposal (© Heerim Architects), Zaha Hadid Architects' winning design (© Zaha Hadid Architects).

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