Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to Redesign New Building with Student Ideas

[Financial News] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) will allow students to redesign part of its new office building. SMOE announced that it will launch the 'Seoul Youth Dream of the New Education Office Building' project and begin recruiting participants on the 23rd. Through the project, middle and high school students in Seoul interested in architecture, urban planning, and spatial design will tour the first through third floors of the new building and propose ideas for transforming them into student-friendly spaces.
Participants will form teams at Dagachi School, a regionally connected student activity space operated by SMOE, and take part in activities through November. Dagachi School has four locations—in Guro District, Dobong, Yangcheon District, and Seocho District—and serves as an after-school self-governed space where students explore fields of interest and plan and run projects on their own.
After examining the functions of and users of the new building's spaces, students will consider what facilities are needed and develop their ideas into models, 3D images, or proposals. Current architecture and spatial-design experts, including Professor Kim So-Ra of the University of Seoul (UOS)'s Department of Architecture, will participate as mentors to help students explore the spaces. The project has a total budget of 30 million won, including event and expert service costs.
The students' proposals will be reviewed by relevant SMOE departments and used as reference when plans are developed for the future layout and improvements of the new building. At a presentation scheduled for Nov. 20, students from the four Dagachi School locations will exhibit their work in the new building and have an opportunity to present their spatial-planning ideas directly to Geun-sik Chung, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Participation is free, and SMOE plans to help ensure that the students' activities and results can be recorded in their school records.
Superintendent Geun-sik Chung said, "This project goes beyond having young people learn about architecture; it gives them the experience of directly observing and reflecting on the educational spaces they use and proposing new spaces." He added, "As the new education office building is a space that represents the future of Seoul education, incorporating the voices of the students who use it will itself be a meaningful educational experience."

[email protected] Man-gi Kim Reporter