SEOUL — Gyeonggi Province announced on the 29th that a total of 74 winning works have been selected for the 31st Gyeonggi Architectural Culture Awards, following evaluations by the Gyeonggi Architectural Culture Festival Organizing Committee.

The Gyeonggi Architectural Culture Awards is an annual competition designed to discover and honor outstanding buildings and future architectural ideas in Gyeonggi Province. The event is divided into two categories: the Use Approval Category, which evaluates newly completed buildings, and the Planning Category, which assesses innovative design concepts from university students and aspiring architects.

The Use Approval Category was open to buildings in Gyeonggi Province that received use approval between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2025.

The grand prize (Daesang) in the Use Approval Category was awarded to Courtyard Marriott Pyeongtaek. The judges praised the project for cleverly overcoming challenging terrain and legal constraints through a geometric cross-sectional design, creating a functional hotel space that harmonizes seamlessly with the natural environment. Designed by Junglim Architecture, constructed by Tracon Construction, and commissioned by Dongseung Hotel & Resort, the hotel stood out for its architectural ingenuity.

Four projects received the gold prize (Geumsang), including the Unjeong Danurim Senior and Disabled Welfare Center in Paju, the Yangpyeong County Sports Center, Seongnam Water Light Garden in Gumidong, and the KG Memorial Hall "Jagangheon". The silver prize (Eunsang) was awarded to four projects: the Seoun-myeon Administrative Welfare Center in Anseong, Cafe Monbrene (Residential Use), Mugeonga (House of Silence), and Pungeunjae.

In the Planning Category, held under the theme "Healing Boundary: DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)," the grand prize (Daesang) went to Yeom Mi-reul, a student at Soonchunhyang University, for "Unfinished Return: A Facility for Enshrining Unidentified Remains of the Korean War." The judges highly commended the project for addressing the theme through spatial planning that deeply considers temporality and a profound sense of place.

The gold prize (Geumsang) was awarded to Seo Jeong-bin and Kim Dam-yoon of Sahmyook University for "Map of Peace: Erasing the Surface of Confrontation and Painting Peace." Three projects won the silver prize (Eunsang): "FOR : REST" by Kim Min-gyu (Soonchunhyang University), "From Root to Horizon" by Lee Ji-sook, Kim Dong-seon, and Kim Gi-tae (Yeungnam University), and "DMZ-119" by Cho Min-seo (Soonchunhyang University).

Overall, the Use Approval Category yielded 41 winners, including 9 main prize winners, 14 special prize winners, and 18 honorable mentions. The Planning Category recognized 33 winners, comprising 5 main prize winners, 14 special prize winners, 7 special selection winners, and 7 honorable mentions.

The awards ceremony will take place on October 24 at 2:00 PM during the opening ceremony of the 14th Gyeonggi Architectural Culture Festival at the Forest of Wisdom within the Paju Asia Publication Culture Information Center. The winning works will be exhibited at the same venue from October 23 to 25.

Kang Gil-soon, Head of the Architectural Policy Division at Gyeonggi Province, remarked, "Through this competition, we were able to witness outstanding buildings that embody the public and cultural values of architecture, alongside diverse proposals from young architects who reinterpreted the boundaries and memories of the Demilitarized Zone into spaces of healing and coexistence." She added, "We hope these winning works will elevate the status of Gyeonggi’s architectural culture and broaden new architectural horizons."

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