The residents of Gumho-dong, Seoul, live in a neighborhood that was built in a way that put housing as a top priority over planning and reason. Over 90% of the homes built in this neighborhood have no parking spots, much less roads for vehicular traffic. The residents of this neighborhood have to maneuver through a maze-like series of winding narrow streets, alleys, stairs and ramps to get in and out of the neighborhood. There are no streets where you can see more than 50 meters in any straight line of sight. With 3 to 5 story buildings on either side of these narrow passages barely wide enough for two people to pass shoulder-to-shoulder, a web of electrical wiring overhead and a continuous peripheral view of visual pollution all around, wayfinding has always been seen as a luxury that could never be afforded to this labyrinth of a neighborhood in central Seoul.
While the lack of wayfinding has mostly been a nuisance for visitors to the area and door to door delivery services, in recent years it has become evident that wayfinding has become a matter of life and death for its residents. With an aging population, medical emergencies have become much more commonplace. First responders have been unable to respond to emergencies due to the maze-like structure of the neighborhood. Until now, there has never been a suitable wayfinding solution for this neighborhood, so city planners looked to our firm to design a unique and effective solution that could potentially save lives while enhancing the quality of life through wayfinding.

Project : 서울시 범죄예방디자인 사업 _ 성동구 금호동
Location : 서울시 성동구 금호4가동 주택밀집지역
Client : 서울시청
Output : 현황ㆍ문제 분석, 디자인 솔루션 도출, 활용방안 제시
             Skyline Wayfinding 구축, 실시설계, 시공
Launch date : 2018. 12
Partners : Design ENY
Photographer: 강재훈, 최셔우드
Prize : 2019 SEGD Global Design Award Sylvia Harris 수상
          2019 SEGD Global Design Award Merit수상 (Wayfinding 부분)

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