The Wooduk Foundation, operated by Hanil Cement, held the final judging session and award ceremony for the 4th Wooduk Future Architect Award on November 12 at Hanil Cement’s headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

This year’s competition was themed around Concrete and Culture, a book by Adrian Forty, Professor of Architecture at University College London. Participants were tasked with reading the book and submitting architectural designs that reinterpret the meaning and value of cement and concrete within the historical context of architecture and urban development.

A total of 52 works were submitted between July 1 and August 31. Among them, nine teams advanced to the finals, where they presented architectural models, videos, and presentations to compete for the top awards.

The Grand Prize was awarded to the team of Park Si-young from Ewha Womans University and Kim Ji-hwan from Myongji University for their work titled Urban Quarry. The project, which proposed dismantling and reassembling waste concrete structures, was highly praised for its innovative perspective of viewing aging cities as concrete quarries. The work also received the Popular Choice Award, selected by votes from fellow finalists, achieving a double win.

Excellence Awards were presented to the team of Seo I-seul and Nam Hye-rin from Korea University for The Universe Underground; Concrete Inscribed with Memory, and to Lee Jae-woo from Jeju National University for Palimpsest.

At the ceremony, a total of KRW 40 million in scholarships was awarded, including KRW 10 million for one Grand Prize team, KRW 6 million each for two Excellence Award teams, KRW 4 million each for three Merit Award teams, and KRW 2 million each for three Encouragement Award teams.

The final round was conducted through on-site evaluations by the judging panel following participants’ presentations, with scores tallied and announced on the same day. The panel included architect Kim Soo-young, recipient of the 2019 Korea Public Architecture Award Grand Prize; architect Lee Chi-hoon, winner of the 2023 Architectural Works Award from the Korean Society of Architectural History; and architect Lee Seung-taek, recipient of the 2016 New York Emerging Architect Award, who also offered professional feedback to the participants.

Meanwhile, the Wooduk Foundation has been hosting the Wooduk Future Architect Award competition since 2022 as part of its efforts to foster outstanding talent across various sectors of society.