updated December 2002 Unicode 3.0
(UTF-8)		 UIA

 

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS

LATEST RESULTS

2002
Paris, 12 December 2002

 

Design for the Busan [부산] Tower
(Republic of Korea)

 

The municipal authorities of Busan, the second largest city in Korea, launched an international ideas competition open to young architects, aged forty or under, for the design of a new type of urban tower, located on Yongdu hill, in the heart of down-town Busan.

This initiative was situated in the framework of the 2002 Busan International Festival of Architecture.

In conformity with the UNESCO/UIA regulations, this competition received UIA approval.
PROGRAMME

The building, subject of the competition, will replace the existing tower in the centre of the park that dominates the city and the port. The new structure had to include a panoramic sky lounge and an observatory as well as commercial, cultural and leisure facilities, in harmony with the natural and urban environment.

JURY

The jury, under the presidency of Vassilis Sgoutas, architect, UIA Past President, met on 7 and 8 October 2002 and was composed as follows: Ronald A. Altoon, architect (USA), UIA Council Member, Mario Botta, architect (Switzerland), Il-In Hwang, architect (Republic of Korea), Suk-Won Kang architect (Republic of Korea), Jong Soung Kimm, architect (Republic of Korea), Gaetan Siew, architect (Mauritius), UIA 1st Vice-President. Cui Kai, architect (Peoples' Republic of China), participated in the deliberations as deputy jury member.

Before examining the 186 entries submitted for adjudication, the jury discussed the competition requirements, the idea of a tower in its widest sense, as well as panoramic view, respect of the environment, harmony with the city's skyline, and the identity of Busan and its unique symbolic character.

Having ended its deliberations, the jury awarded 3 prizes and 10 mentions
  • 1st prize :
Yves Pages, Benoît le Thierry d'Ennequin, France
  • 2nd prize :

 Peng Yang, Fu Li, Yiyi Zhou, Peoples’ Republic of China / USA
  • 3rd prize :
Michael S. Arellanes, USA

  • Mentions :
      • Young-Keun Han, Joo Hyun Cho, Choi Yu-Mi, Chang Kyung-Hoon, Kim Do-Hoon, Lee Min-Woo, Republic of Korea / France
      • Jeff McKean, Sera Boldwin, USA
      • Jong Jin Kim, Republic of Korea / United Kingdom
      • Stefan Rutzinger, Kristina Schinegger, Austria
      • Rene Walkenhorst, Alexander Thomass, Germany
      • Yasha Jacob Grobman, Tami Lapidot, Tomer Maymon, Israel
      • Raf Dauwe, Belgium / Germany
      • Jean Beaudoin, André Prefontaine, Canada
      • Patrick Matthias Kaut, Jean-Francois Herry, Brice Guinet, France
      • Do-young Park, Dong Youn Lim, Beom Seok Yu, Republic of Korea.

WINNING PROJECT

The members of the jury unanimously appreciated the following features in this project:

  • The simplicity of the proposal, it’s horizontal platform contrasting with the evolving city skyline
  • The new elevated piazza with public spaces and restaurant that soars over the city clouds
  • Strong night-time image of the building giving a sensation of control over the city
  • Valorisation of hill and park
  • Portal that reinforces the axis of the park and organises the site
  • Symbolic aspect of the portal open to the world, facing the port
  • New contemporary image of memory
  • Strong idea that merits being developed and built.

The Jury met in Busan to determine the most appropriate solution to the challenges of the particular site and, more specifically, a solution that would be a "symbol" and also "unique".

Subsequent to the Jury's decision, a project by Norman Foster in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) was brought to the attention of the members of the Jury. This project is at the moment under construction.

Given the striking similarity between the First Prize of the Busan Tower Complex Competition and the Santiago de Compostela project, the Jury unanimously recommends that the Busan Municipality, before arriving at a decision concerning implementation, should take into consideration the fact that the First Prize would not uniquely symbolise the city of Busan.