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Kyu Sung Woo ( United States of America ) Alberto Francini ( Italy ) H-Sang Seung ( South Korea ) Andres Perea ( Spain ) Chang Hoon Shin ( South Korea ) Sam Young Choi ( South Korea ) Young Kyoon Jeong ( South Korea )

General Comment on the International Project Competition for the Asian Cultural Complex in Gwangju

The complexity of the programmatic requirement coupled with the magnitude of the project size appears to have discouraged competitors who had registered initially, so that only about one quarter of the registered number have submitted designs in the end.

As most of the architectural competitions in recent years have shown, the ACC competition entries encompass most of the current trends in architecture in an increasingly globalized architectural profession. The jury members have identified several typologies as follows:

 ● Mega-structure over the site with programmatic requirements freely dispersed.
 ● Topographical manipulation of the site to accommodate requirements.
 ● Green roof approach
 ● Icon-making
 ● Re-creation of the urban context

The jury examined the site by helicopter fly-over, walking through the surrounding area and the site itself, and climbing up the neighboring KT building. At the first meeting, the jury discussed and jointly adopted the following judging criteria:

 ● Memorial of the historicity of the site
 ● Urban fabric and urban design issues
 ● Expressing Asian value
 ● Sustainability
 ● Conformance of the program requirement
 ● Architectural Excellence

After examining all the entries and as some of the stronger schemes began to surface, the jury debated the merits of each scheme in great length. Some very strong concepts were found to have infringed on the requirements, and as a consequence, were relegated to lower prizes or mentions only. Heated discussions among the jury members on the nature of Asian value revealed a certain difference of perception between some jurors. As the selection moved to the top seven premiated schemes, it became apparent that a unanimous decision by the jury for the first prize winner would not be within the realm of possibility, and two jurors chose to abstain from casting their votes.

The first prize winner, entitled the “Forest of Light,” when completed, will truly be a genuine work of art in itself. A generous city park in the heart of Gwangju, an oasis in the hustle and bustle of the vibrant commercial district will merge seamlessly with a non-hierarchical, open, and light-filled structure for all types of art.

The members of the jury wishes to express their appreciation to the promoter represented by Mr. Song Ki Sook, Chairman of the Presidential Committee for Culture Cities; Mr. Lee Young-Jin, CEO of the Executive Agency for Culture Cities; Professor Kim Yang Hyun, General Director of Research Bureau of the Executive Agency; Mr. Rhee Jang-Hyup, Director of the Executive Agency and their staff for their hospitality during the jury session. The jury members wish to thank Professor Choi Jaepil, the Professional Advisor of the international competition, his staff and the members of the Korea Architects Institute for their untiring support and professionalism.

Jong Soung Kimm, Chair of the Jury

December 2, 2005