Seoul accepts bids for transport center design contest

By Kim Se-jeong

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is inviting experts in architecture, civil engineering, urban planning and transportation to an international design contest to design a public transit center for southern Seoul.

The structure will be built underground between Samseong Station on Line 2 and Bongeunsa Station on Line 9 by 2023. It will be 51 meters deep, housing platforms and transit areas for seven train lines ― two subway lines are currently running and an additional five lines will open ― bus transit points, shops and offices.

Interested applicants must submit a request for qualification to the city government by June 21 and they should be teams of experts in architecture, civil engineering, urban planning and transportation.

The city will select seven qualified teams to compete in the final design contest which will close on Oct. 13. The seven teams will receive 100 million won ($88,400) to make their designs. Visit project.seoul.go.kr for more details about the project and qualifications.

The project is part of a bigger initiative by the city that will turn the area into an international convention and meeting cluster. COEX in the neighborhood already serves as the city’s main conference and exhibition venue.

Jamsil Olympic Stadium and other sports and cultural facilities are also nearby. The city expects the transportation center will provide convenient services to visitors to the area.

The development project is in line with the city’s effort to draw tourists for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE). Seoul is a popular MICE destination internationally. According to the Union of International Associations, a nonprofit research institute based in Belgium, Seoul was the world’s third-most-popular MICE host city last year ― 526 meetings took place in Seoul. Seoul was only after Brussels and Singapore.