The Headquarter Building of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education(SMOE), previously located in Yeouido, was moved to the present location in 1981. The number of staff was about 350 at that time, but now it is about 760, as the type and scope of the work have been varied and extended for the last 37 years. The user of the building has also been varied including various education-related entities and citizens.
However, the current headquarter building of SMOE, adjacent to the GyeonghuI Palace, is located in the Cultural Heritage Protection Zone, making it impossible to extend or rebuild the existing building to accommodate the changing demands of the current occupant and citizens. Therefore, in 2009, SMOE decided to relocate its headquarter building to the former Sudo Girls' High School site in Yongsan-gu, and move to the new headquarter building in 2021.
The new headquarter building of SMOE is a space to realize the "Innovative Future Education for the Happiness of All," and it will break away from the bureaucratic and authoritative appearance of conventional public office buildings. The goal of the new office building is to create a facility that has 'Openness' for the communication with various education-related entities and residents, 'Functionality' for creative and efficient working, and 'Publicity' for providing high-quality administrative services in the local society.
The site is adjacent to Mt. Namsan as well as the Yongsan Park, which will be constructed as the largest park in Seoul following the relocation of the US Military Camp, and is located in a region where urban regeneration will be promoted, and various changes are expected to occur. Therefore, this project should be planned to harmonize the current urban area with the surrounding nature and to present the future directions for the urban regeneration.
* The above times are based on Korean Mean Time and the schedule is subject to change. The notice for change will be posted on the competition website.