Discovering outstanding cases of 'Universal Design' that anyone can use
Online applications accepted via the website until August 2; 12 awards in total
The Seoul Design Foundation (CEO Lee Kyung-don) is holding the '2023 3rd Seoul Universal Design Award' with applications open until August 2, setting out to discover outstanding examples of universal design nationwide.
Universal design, or 'design for all,' refers to design that creates an environment usable equitably by anyone regardless of age, gender, nationality, cultural background, or disability.
The competition covers three main categories: ▴Universal Design Environment Creation, ▴Universal Design Service, and ▴Universal Design Product. The Environment Creation category is divided into a public sector and a private sector, and domestic companies and public institutions interested in universal design may take part.
Eligible projects include parks, plazas, buildings, spaces, and services that have been completed within the past three years, as well as products and transportation equipment that have been on the market within five years. For details, please refer to the competition guidelines.
Hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Design Foundation, the 'Seoul Universal Design Award' has been held since 2021 to present inclusive standards and broaden the base of universal design through the selection of outstanding universal design cases.
The Grand Prize winners of the 2nd award were <Maryeong-myeon Rural Center Revitalization Project (Public)>, which fostered collaboration so that all residents—including the elderly, people with disabilities, and children—could live ordinary lives together as neighbors in order to revitalize the rural community, and <Gwacheon Xi_Grand 'O' Park (Private)>, which planned the landscape-axis space of an apartment complex as a pedestrian pathway and created a universal design environment allowing anyone easy access from bus stops and subway stations, through the central park within the complex, along the way to Cheonggyesan Mountain.
Submitted projects are selected through expert review. Judging is based on the five shared values of the Seoul Universal Design brand, with a total of 12 works to be selected and awarded prize money and certificates totaling 44 million won.
The five shared values of the Seoul Universal Design brand, which serve as the judging criteria, are ▴Sharing without constraints, ▴Stable balance, ▴Respected diversity, ▴Innovative change, and ▴Safe usability, and entries are evaluated according to the scoring standards for each category.
Winning works are selected through a check for plagiarism and duplicate awards, a first-round document review, a second-round on-site review, a third-round final review, and a final public verification process.
Lee Kyung-don, CEO of the Seoul Design Foundation, said, "We aim to raise social awareness of universal design and enable all citizens to enjoy a happy everyday life without discrimination," adding, "In particular, this year we newly established the Universal Design Product category, which did not exist last year, and roughly doubled the total prize money, so we hope for much interest and participation."
▲ 2nd Award Public Sector Grand Prize, 'Maryeong-myeon Rural Center Revitalization Project'