Architecture Competition Timber Skyscraper Challenge 3rd and Student prize winners – Hongik University

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd and Student prize winners of our "Timber Skyscraper Challenge" competition –Beom Seok Ko, Joo Hye Lim, Shiwon Kim and Eun A Jeong from South Korea!

3rd and Student prize winners from South Korea

We are currently 4th year students at Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea. It's the first time we've formed a contest team since taking the same design studio class last year. All four of us have similar but different work styles and architectural ideas, so we were able to achieve meaningful growth by sharing various thoughts during the project together.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been Involved?

We have worked on projects of various scales in design studios, including housing, utilities, offices, schools, and cities. Starting with small-scale buildings, it now covers a large category of architectural projects. As we encounter this increasingly large scale of architecture, we grow to understand the surrounding context and to recognize its connection to the building as well as interpretation of the building itself.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Architecture is a study that is directly related to people's lives. It can affect or create various areas of society, but it does not always produce positive results. Therefore, architects should always be careful about choices and decisions and anticipate and prepare for the impact that the results will produce. Buildings created through this careful process provide a more pleasant and good space for people and society and exert good influence.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

In the architecture contest, you encounter and challenge new things other than learning architecture at school. Team members review what they each learned in the design studio, apply and negotiate in a new way, and complete projects that could not be created alone. The whole process is not smooth and difficult, but there are definitely gains.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

The architectural contest is the product of the process of talking and negotiating the members' thoughts with each other. In the process, each member can grow by looking into the thoughts of others and comparing them with their own opinions. Due to the nature of the contest that must be completed within a certain period of time, satisfactory results cannot always come out, but there is definitely something to be obtained.