Seoul strengthens global architectural ties as cooperation with Basel, Switzerland, gathers momentum

[Financial News] Seoul is moving to strengthen its global architectural cooperation network, building on close exchanges in urban architecture with Basel, Switzerland.
According to the city on the 4th, Kim Seong-bo, Seoul’s Second Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, met with Conradin Cramer, Governor of Basel-Stadt, in Basel, Switzerland, on the 3rd (local time) to discuss ways for the two cities to cooperate in urban architecture. The meeting was arranged as a follow-up to an agreement on exchanges in urban architecture signed last year, to review progress on the 2026 Seoul-Switzerland Architects Exchange Program and flesh out plans for cooperation on the 6th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism in 2027.
That day, Vice Mayor Kim attended the Seoul-Basel Architects Open Forum at K-Haus Basel. Co-hosted by the Canton of Basel-Stadt and the Swiss arts foundation Pro Helvetia, the forum drew emerging architects from both countries, including Seoul-based architects Jeong Sang-gyeong, Baek Han-yeol and Hong Jeong-hui, as well as Magdalena Stadler and Miriam Stierle from Basel. They shared the architectural challenges facing their respective cities and possible solutions under the theme of “urban identity and continuity, social sustainability, and public space.”
The forum was a key event in the 2026 Seoul-Switzerland Architects Exchange Program, which is taking place from the 2nd to the 6th in major Swiss cities including Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is supporting the program to help promising emerging Korean architects expand their networks with leading architecture firms and institutions overseas and build a foundation for international work. The participating Korean architects are exploring ways to restore a sense of place in public architecture, plan spaces that connect existing neighborhoods with everyday life, and unlock new possibilities for collective housing.
Field visits are also being conducted to improve the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s flagship “Visible Storage” project. The delegation will visit Schaulager, one of Switzerland’s leading open-storage facilities, and the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, among other sites, to examine exemplary spaces that combine preservation and research functions with areas for public viewing and consider what elements could be incorporated into city policy.
Kim Seong-bo, Seoul’s Second Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, emphasized, “The solidarity among cities fostered through the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism is developing into substantive exchanges among architects.” He added, “Taking this meeting as a catalyst, the two cities will pool their insights and continue their cooperation at an even higher level at the upcoming 2027 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.”

[email protected] Jeon Min-gyeong Reporter