Apgujeong District 3 cooperative to reopen competition for architect

An aerial view of Apgujeong District 3. [Courtesy of Seoul]

A cooperative for reconstruction and maintenance projects in Apgujeong District 3, which has been at odds with the Seoul Metropolitan Government over the selection of an architecture company, has decided to re-select a design firm.

According to sources on Tuesday, the cooperative held a delegate meeting the previous day and decided to re-select an architect for their projects. The cooperative plans to hold a general meeting soon to deal with the matter.

The cooperative held a general meeting last month and selected a consortium led by Heerim Architects as the primary architect.

At the time, Heerim Architects received 1,507 votes, beating out Haeahn Architecture, which received 1,069 votes. There were 115 abstentions and invalid votes.

However, Heerim Architects’ proposal of 360 percent, which exceeded the maximum floor area ratio of 300 percent allowed by the city, caused problems.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government filed a police complaint against Heerim Architects for violating the design competition guidelines prior to the vote and issued a cease order to the cooperative, but the cooperative went ahead with the vote.

On the day of the vote, Heerim Architects presented a proposal that reduced the floor area ratio by 300 percent, but the city of Seoul insisted that the vote was invalid.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government subsequently conducted an inspection of the cooperative, finding 12 cases of irregularities and threatening to investigate the cooperative if it did not comply with the corrective order.

As a result, a consensus was formed among cooperative members in favor of new selection due to concerns about delays in reconstruction.

“In response to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s corrective order, we will start the process of selecting a design firm again, but the specific method has not yet been determined,” said a cooperative member.