An artist’s representation of Parc1, a multipurpose commercial tower, designed by renowned British architect Richard Rogers. The tower is set to open in 2011. |
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
The sky is now hardly the limit for Korean developers that are cranking out plan after plan to build super towers, but an insufficient pool of local architects is keeping them watching on the sidelines as observers of the high-rise boom.
From the Sangam DMC Tower, Yongsan Dream Tower and Yeouido Parc1 to the Samsung-dong Green Gateway, a rush of new major construction projects are under way, but a majority of the work has been awarded to overseas architects.
U.S.-based SOM is covering the Sangam DMC, Busan Lotte World, and the Yongsan Dream Tower projects, London-based Richard Rogers is directing the Parc1 development and Japan-based Nikken Sekkei is in charge of the new green building in Samsung-dong, to name a few.
If these projects are innovative, compelling and worth a fortune, why not hire domestic architects?
Industry experts say the answer is simple: not enough professionals with experience in high-rise architecture.
``It would be much cheaper to hire domestic firms, but there aren't enough talented people here with a proven track record,'' said an official of Hyundai Industrial Development & Construction, which is currently building a 72-story apartment in Busan. ``Not many have solid experience with complicated structures.''
The developer hired Daniel Libeskind, who created the master plan for Ground Zero in New York, to design the skyscraper.
The official said that contracting Korean architects costs only about 50 percent of the fee overseas firms charge. But despite the immediate cost reduction, experienced developers say that the merits of working with renowned foreign architects are worth the money.
Companies borrow their names as a way of upgrading the image of the building, which helps them draw investment and tenants.
``These projects are huge. They're worth billions of won, so builders and developers aren't going to take a risk by experimenting with less-known professionals,'' said an official of Lotte Construction & Engineering.
This fixed mind set is troubling local architects as they're stripped of the opportunity of even getting a review of their portfolio.
``They have official biddings, but that's merely for show because the industry is already fixed on relying on global names,'' says Kim Heung-soo, an architect at Seoul-based Gana Architects.
Such discrimination is leading more voices to call on at least the government-granted projects to be handed to homegrown talent.
Some industry watchers say that the architects of landmark artifices are selected through an open competition, although there may be elements in the process that may favor proposals so ti is not fair to give Korean architect on a quota system of a sort.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
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'600만명 학살 지휘' 잔인한 인물의 뒷얘기 공개
