What Will the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Look Like When Designed by Students?... Youth-Led Spatial Project Underway

A "Youth-Friendly Metropolitan Education Office Project," in which middle and high school students in Seoul will redesign the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education headquarters, is set to take place.

On September 23, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that from September to November, 80 middle and high school students in Seoul who are interested in architecture, urban studies, and spatial design will participate in a space planning project to take the lead in reshaping the new office building. The project is significant in that students will directly explore the new office, view educational spaces from their own perspectives, and independently plan and propose ideas for reconstructing the space to be more youth-friendly.

This project will be carried out based on four "Dagachi Schools" operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Dagachi Schools are local community-based youth self-governing learning centers, where young people independently investigate their areas of interest, plan and run projects, and experience autonomy and community.

Participating students will form project teams at the Dagachi Schools and explore the first to third floors of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s new headquarters. They will observe the functions and features of the spaces and the users themselves, consider what spaces are needed from the students’ perspective, and develop and specify new ideas for how the space can be utilized. Architects and spatial education experts will participate as mentor teachers to help students refine their conceptualized ideas. Students will be able to express their ideas in multiple formats, such as models, space utilization proposals, 3D images, and spatial improvement reports.

Applications for students wishing to participate will be accepted from September 23 to October 2.

The Office of Education plans to exhibit the project results from the four Dagachi Schools at the new headquarters on November 20. Additionally, student proposals will be reviewed by relevant departments and considered during the planning and supplementing process for the future configuration and enhancement of the headquarters building.

Superintendent Jeong Geun-sik stated, “This project is not only about learning architecture; it is also an opportunity for teenagers to observe, think about, and propose new concepts for spaces they actually use. Since the new headquarters represents the future of education in Seoul, ensuring it reflects the voices of its students is, in itself, an invaluable educational experience.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.