NATIONAL GOVERNMENT BUILDING

The Central Government Town is a progressive city that envisions ‘A horizontal and connected green city.’ The Sejong National Government Building is a pivotal project to the maturity of the central government town. The revised master plan supplements and improves the original master plan through means of securing a site for new building, plan for adjacent land use, adjustment of programs while maintaining the original concept. The Sejong National Government Building embodies the concepts of communication, open, democracy of a 21st century government and envisions a building that corresponds to a new age ideologies.

Each zone in the Central Government Town has their own characters and still developing. The Sejong National Government Building links those individual facilities and proposes a well-connected Masterplan. The design considers current site condition to activate of the Government Town, connect the lots and proposes appropriate program and form to create a pivot of the town. Sejong National Government Building proposes and suggests a slanted low-rise and an expansion to promote the pivotal space concept. The central area of the site is composed of public area such as a forum where civil petitioner and officials can meet, or a sunken plaza and civic facilities for the convenience of the uses and visitors alike. In addition, a pedestrian axis that passes through the center is proposed for easier pathfinding and directionality of the streetscape.

The massing of the building is developed to maintain the “FLAT” concept of existing masterplan since a high-rise at the center of the Government Town could be an authoritarian symbol. Thus, a low-rise building is proposed to express the idea of open and horizontal government. The Sejong National Government Building roof starts at the ground level and slopes and tapers towards the top. Such massing is easier to recognize from many directions without compromising the “FLAT” concept. Furthermore, the building could be operated both horizontally and vertically. The building roof is composed of plants, photovoltaic panels, skylights, and terraces to create a well-lit, comfortable, and sustainable building environment. The above mentioned elements are meticulously composed to four roof modules and these modules are strategically placed in correspondence to the interior layout. For example, next to the office resting area there is a terrace roof module is used. The building side elevations are covered with curtain wall and fins that regulates the direct solar radiation while allowing the view and indirect lights. At the center of the building, there is “Sejong Forum” where civil petitioners and the government officials can freely meet and discuss. The Sejong Forum is covered with glass, and BIPV to create a comfortable and welcoming well-lit open space with energy saving and generating systems such as louvers to regulate solar radiation and operable windows to allow passive ventilation. Underneath the glass roof is indoor landscape and water feature that extends to the Sunken plaza to promote a smooth transition between the interior and exterior, and the officials and the petitioners.