| Title |
The Transformation of Urban Architecture and Architectural Design Offices after 2000 in Korea |
| Keywords |
Urban Architecture ; Architectural Design Office ; Amplification ; Polarization |
| Abstract |
The paper examines the changes in the size of architectural and urban projects, and the architectural design offices in Korea since 2000. Three research questions are raised specifically; the changes in the total building permit areas of each building types, the total floor areas of major urban architecture in Seoul, and the size of architectural design offices and their projects. The various statistics were comparatively analyzed; the statistics from OECD, the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs, Seoul Development Institute, and surveys from 30 selected architectural design offices in Seoul. The paper discovers that the high percentage of construction investment driven by the government and public institution have lead to the amplification of urban architecture, and in turn to the polarization of architectural design offices into mega-size firm and small atelier type firm. The amplification and polarization of architecture raises the question of the diversity of urban culture, and the qualities of micro-scale architectural design, and therefore rigorous interdisciplinary research and discussion are required. |