30 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Seoul

These annual rankings were last updated on January 16th, 2026. Want to see your firm on next year’s list? Continue reading for more on how you can improve your studio’s ranking.

Rooted in the principles of Confucianism and harmony with nature, structures like Gyeongbokgung Palace reflect Seoul’s ancient past. Fast forward to the 20th century, and modernist influences emerge, through buildings such as Kim Swoo Geun’s Space Group Building, completed in 1971, which merges traditional Korean aesthetics with modernist principles.

More recently, projects such as Zaha Hadid’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Seoullo 7017 Skygarden by MVRDV, as well as the Amorepacific Headquarters by David Chipperfield Architects, have provided the blueprint for the city’s contemporary architectural direction, where modern practices emphasize sustainability, smart technology integration and eco-friendly designs. Contemporary architecture firms in Seoul now focus on smart cities and create buildings that not only stand out visually but also address environmental concerns. This evolution makes Seoul a vibrant stage for global architectural discourse, acting as a design fusion that features towering skyscrapers along with historic conservation buildings and futuristic complexes.

With so many architecture firms to choose from, it’s challenging for clients to identify the industry leaders that will be an ideal fit for their project needs. Fortunately, Architizer is able to provide guidance on the top design firms in Seoul based on more than a decade of data and industry knowledge.

How are these architecture firms ranked?

The following ranking has been created according to key statistics that demonstrate each firm’s level of architectural excellence. The following metrics have been accumulated to establish each architecture firm’s ranking, in order of priority:

• The number of A+Awards won (2013 to 2025)
• The number of A+Awards finalists (2013 to 2025)
• The number of projects selected as “Project of the Day” (2009 to 2025)
• The number of projects selected as “Featured Project” (2009 to 2025)
• The number of projects uploaded to Architizer (2009 to 2025)

Each of these metrics is explained in more detail at the foot of this article. This ranking list will be updated annually, taking into account new achievements of Seoul architecture firms throughout the year.

Without further ado, here are the 30 best architecture firms in Seoul:

33. yoon space

© yoon space

yoon space is an architecture firm based in Seoul, whose work is centered around industrial architecture.

Some of yoon space’s most prominent projects include:

• ART 23.5 Jung Gil-Young Gallery, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
• Albang (Egg Room), Seoul, South Korea
• Queen’s House, South Korea
• Chocolate Box, South Korea
• BY ELBON_ SHOWROOM, South Korea

The following statistics helped yoon space achieve 33rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

32. Smaller Architects

© Smaller Architects

Smaller Architects is a Korean architecture office based in Seoul. It was founded in 2016 by an architect, Choi Min Wook. Smaller means small and better. We are trying to go beyond architectural theory and idea, and look more carefully into context and to design architecture that fits into its surroundings. Its works range from architecture and smaller-scale interior and design furniture. Smaller architects also participate in various lectures, exhibitions and research with collaborators in the art and design field.

Some of Smaller Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Tiny house – SERORO, Seoul, South Korea
• Common Ground Museum, Seoul, South Korea
• Bunker Botanical Garden
• Light Filled Church, Korea
• Memorial Ring -City Charnel House, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped Smaller Architects achieve 32nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

31. IDR Architects

© IDR Architects

IDR Architects was founded in 2014 by Seunghwan Lee and Borim Jun. IDR is a name that quietly echoes words like idea and ideal — a subtle suggestion of our desire to move beyond fixed systems and toward a more intuitive, responsive architecture.

We aim to respond flexibly to diverse external conditions and embrace a more open-ended approach to design. Our work often begins by questioning what is taken for granted in the urban and architectural landscape, with a particular focus on the role of architecture as a backdrop that mediates between users and everyday life.

Some of IDR Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Old Barnyard, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Wonderful Wooman, Suwon-si, South Korea
• Caffeine Jung-Ri, Hwaseong-si, South Korea
• House Bent, Paju-si, South Korea
• Sanan Yamagishism Village, Hwaseong-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped IDR Architects achieve 31st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

30. Leehong Kim Architects

© Leehong Kim Architects

Leehong Kim lives in Korea and operates Leehong Kim Architects in both Seoul and New York City. Work focuses on both architectural and conceptual works integrated into the given spatial condition.

Some of Leehong Kim Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• 47 Modules, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped Leehong Kim Architects achieve 30th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

29. D Werker Architects

© D Werker Architects

D Werker Architects is an architectural practice based in Seoul, centered around residential as well as commercial architecture.

Some of D Werker Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Unicity, Seoul, South Korea
• Carver Global, Seoul, South Korea
• EMK Musical Company, Seoul, South Korea
• Simon House, Paju-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped D Werker Architects achieve 29th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

28. Heesoo Kwak + IDMM Architects

© Heesoo Kwak + IDMM Architects

Kwak, Heesoo graduated from Hongik University and opened the IDMM Architects Office based in Seoul in 2003. He has served as a columnist for the JoongAng Ilbo’s ‘Architect Kwak Heesoo’s Short City’ and is attempting to decipher architecture based on constantly occurring urban phenomena.

Some of Heesoo Kwak + IDMM Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• FORT & PORT, Yeosu-si, South Korea
• Gijang Waveon, Busan, South Korea
• The Closest Church, Gimpo-si, South Korea
• Guesthouse Rivendell, Gapyeong-gun, South Korea
• Boryeong Elystay, Boryeong-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped Heesoo Kwak + IDMM Architects achieve 28th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

27. Seoinn Design Group

© Yoon Joon-hwan

Established in 1978, Seoinn Design Group has been dedicated to providing high-quality design works to worship places.

Some of Seoinn Design Group’s most prominent projects include:

• Saemoonan Church, Seoul, South Korea
• Shinchon Church, Seoul, South Korea
• Changshin Church 창신교회 – Church for the Blind, Seoul, South Korea
• Key-El BLDG, Seoul, South Korea
• Cheongchun Church, Incheon, South Korea

The following statistics helped Seoinn Design Group achieve 27th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

26. Frame Works

© Bojune Kwon

Architecture is shaped less by appearance than by the systems that underlie its construction. While forms are temporary, structure, material, and technique endure – often unseen. Frame Works focuses on these underlying processes: how things are joined, sequenced, and built over time. In a culture of fast images and visual consumption, we emphasize slower, procedural logics of making.

For us, design is not the depiction of form but a negotiation between matter, method, and structure. We don’t draw objects — we construct frameworks. Details are not finished, but the elements of assembly are. Each project poses new conditions, yet one question remains central: how will it be made?

To design is to organize materials and bring construction into design thinking. Frame Works seeks to narrow the gap between idea and execution. Material is not just substance, but duration. Structure becomes rhythm. Architecture, at its core, is the act of redefining how things are made.

Some of Frame Works’ most prominent projects include:

• Lightus Retreat, South Lake Tahoe, California
• Forest Edge, Hongcheon-gun, South Korea

The following statistics helped Frame Works achieve 26th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

25. Z_Lab

© KIM Jae Kyeong

Z_Lab is a design group to create a place and space-based communication with the region, and reflects the individual’s desire and will. We must achieve a balance of individual aspirations and regional universality in terms of the design and regional identity. In this instance, we create a new experience for staying out through space and a personalized lifestyle brand.

We would like to contribute to giving a new experience for many people beyond the geographic boundaries based on the place and space. So that our results can be created with a private transfer to local and sustainable value for the future, to create a positive business model based on the person and the region.

Some of Z_Lab’s most prominent projects include:

• Pyeongdae Panorama, Jeju-si, South Korea
• Creativehouse, Seoul, South Korea
• Zer0place, Seosan-si, South Korea
• Yuwolbyulchae, Jeju-si, South Korea
• blindwhales, Jeju-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped Z_Lab achieve 25th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

24. 2m2 architects

© 2m2 architects

2m2 architects was founded in Seoul by architect Junghee Lee. The firm suggests new cultural and social possibilities in old-fashioned, conventional existing Korean architecture and aims to produce high-quality designs so that the architect, client and constructor can all be satisfied.

Based on a differentiated design, the company specializes in detailed construction accumulated in the field for several years in design. In addition, while having interest in various fields such as design, music, image and street culture other than architecture, the company plans, designs and constructs the projects through broad collaborations.

Some of 2m2 architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Apple Farm House, Pohang-si, South Korea
• Sista House, Seoul, South Korea
• Geoje house_Younghaeawon(迎海雅院), Geoje-si, South Korea
• Boombox House, South Korea
• Daebong-dong Commercial_skipfloor, Daegu, South Korea

The following statistics helped 2m2 architects achieve 24th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

23. ANM

© ANM

ANM is an architecture design studio that emphasizes diversity and differentiation as well as technical and methodological relationships. The office explores the balance between the architect’s intention and the needs of the client.

Some of ANM’s most prominent projects include:

• Monk’s Cabin (Zen Room for a Buddhist Monk), Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea
• D Church, Yeoju-gun, South Korea
• Yangpyeong House, Yangpyeong-gun, South Korea
• House in Jeju, Jeju-do, South Korea
• Plateau House, Yangpyeong-gun, South Korea

The following statistics helped ANM achieve 23rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

22. WISE Architecture

© WISE Architecture

Young Jang, AIA, received his Master of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Hongik University in Korea. He worked at Iroje Architects and Planners, Seoul, Korea, and at Rafael Viñoly Architects and Steven Holl Architects, New York.

Sook Hee Chun, AIA, received her Master of Architecture from Princeton University after receiving a BS in Architecture from Ewha Womans University in Korea. She worked at Iroje Architects and Planners, Seoul, Korea, and Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, New York.

After jointly establishing WISE Architecture in 2008, the two completed several small but meaningful projects focusing on the materiality of everydayness in Seoul.

Some of WISE Architecture’s most prominent projects include:

• BOX MOBILE GALLERY, Seoul, South Korea
• Red Mirror Strips, Seoul, South Korea
• ABC Building, Seoul, South Korea
• Mu;M Building, Korea
• Dialogue in the Dark Bukchon, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped WISE Architecture achieve 22nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

21. HyunjoonYoo Architects

© HyunjoonYoo Architects

For us, architecture is about designing relationships. We seek to create harmony among people and with nature through new architectural visions.

Some of HyunjoonYoo Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Ssangdalri House, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
• The Void, Korea
• HUB, Seoul, South Korea
• Kangaroo House, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hanok 3.0, Daejeon, South Korea

The following statistics helped HyunjoonYoo Architects achieve 21st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

20. BCHO Architects Associates

© BCHO Architects Associates

Founded in Seoul, Korea, in 1994, BCHO Architects started as a design-build office with a focus on simple structures and a strong regard for nature. Since 1998, the practice focus has been architecture and furniture; however, we work very closely with contractors and multiple fabrication specialists in various disciplines, including stone masons, product designers, wood workers, potters, lighting engineers, furniture and graphic designers and artists. We also have multiple professional collaborators in Montana, Massachusetts, California, Hawaii and Peru.

BCHO Architects believe that buildings, furniture and art are made, not created. Each architectural project, encompassing various scales and programs, explores the phenomenon of light and space, fabrication and construction methods, recycling and reusing, and a broad sense of sustainability (social/cultural/physical), which uses our collective creative energy to reduce our buildings’ demand for grid energy.

Some of BCHO Architects Associates’ most prominent projects include:

• Namhae Southcape Linear Suite Hotel, Namhae-gun, South Korea
• Twin Tree Towers, Seoul, South Korea
• L House
• Hanil Cement Information Center and Guesthouse, Danyang-gun, South Korea
• Camerata Music Space

The following statistics helped BCHO Architects Associates achieve 20th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

19. D.LIM Architects

© D.LIM Architects

D·LIM is an architectural group led by its two principals, Yeonghwan Lim and Sunhyun Kim. Lim, a professor at Hongik University and a registered architect in Pennsylvania, is responsible for creative design. Kim holds a master’s degree in project management from Harvard University and is responsible for the execution of projects. She is a registered architect in Korea.

Some of D.LIM Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall, Seoul, South Korea
• H&M Seoul Hongdae Store, Seoul, South Korea
• Stardom Entertainment Office, Seoul, South Korea
• Coconut house, Seongnam-si, South Korea
• CJ Nine Bridges “The Forum”, Seogwipo-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped D.LIM Architects achieve 19th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

18. YounghanChung Architects

© YounghanChung Architects

Younghan Chung Architects, the architectural studio based in Seoul, seeks a new typology of living in the dense and uniform picture of the city and studies experimental and creative design processes through the relationship of various phenomena of the city.

Some of YounghanChung Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Floating Cubes, Cheongwon-gun, South Korea
• 9X9 EXPERIMENTAL HOUSE, Yangju, South Korea
• POROSCAPE, Seoul, South Korea
• Five Trees, Busan, South Korea
• 6X6 HOUSE

The following statistics helped YounghanChung Architects achieve 18th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

17. JK-AR

© JK-AR

JK-AR is an agenda-based architecture practice founded in 2017 by Jae K. Kim. JK-AR is a platform for design experiments. We create space and form to yield new experiences. We think of visions for human life through architecture. At JK-AR, we believe that the spirit of exceptional architecture can be felt through persistent design investigations that implement state-of-the-art techniques.

For these aims, JK-AR develops new means of design, construction, and structural engineering by using today’s advanced technology. Working seamlessly with the studies of design computation, digital fabrication, and material application, the office challenges current practice to transform the building industry.

Recently, JK-AR has been inventing new applications of conventional materials, focusing on wood and concrete.

Some of JK-AR’s most prominent projects include:

• The House of Three Trees, Sangju-si, South Korea
• Pavilion of Floating Lights, Jinju-si, South Korea
• Tree IV, Seoul, South Korea
• Pavilion of Contemplation, Seoul, South Korea
• Tree VI, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped JK-AR achieve 17th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

16. SsD

© SsD

SsD is an architecture firm that approaches design as a convergent, interdisciplinary venture. Minimum form takes maximum effect with the goal to bridge the utopian and the pragmatic. Instead of separating aspects of architecture, landscape, history, social systems, and codes into their constituent disciplines, these agendas are simultaneously explored so that each discipline symbiotically gains from the other.  In this way, sustainability emerges as an integrated rather than additive result.

Along with being published in major media such as Metropolis Magazine, Dwell Magazine, Architectural Record, The New Yorker, and PBS,  SsD has received many prestigious design awards including the AIA Young Architects Award, the Young Architects Forum Award by the Architectural League of NY, an Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction Award, the Metropolis Next Generation Prize, and twelve AIA awards.

Some of SsD’s most prominent projects include:

• Sundial House, Incheon, South Korea
• Simgok, Seongnam-si, South Korea
• Songpa Micro-Housing, Seoul, South Korea
• Oasis Place
• Big Dig House, Lexington, Massachusetts

The following statistics helped SsD achieve 16th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

15. DIOINNO ARCHITECTURE

© DIOINNO ARCHITECTURE PLLC

Cities need more accessible and reconfigurable construction strategies to foster the culture of dynamic placemaking in the context of ephemeral and transitory programs in our contemporary city. Stick Snap Stack is an alternative construction system to offer such a resilient construction framework. The system utilizes the simplicity of ‘stacking,’ inspired by the traditional wood joinery method. Without bonding agents, the system uses a ‘snapping’ induced interlocking system for the unique stacking mechanism.

The geometry of the centerpiece can be fabricated to shift the stacking angle, while the modularized three legs of the assembled unit block interlock with other blocks to complete a rhombohedral unit cell acting as a self-supporting structural ‘module’.

Some of DIOINNO ARCHITECTURE’s most prominent projects include:

• HIGH LIVING
• STICK SNAP STACK, Seoul, South Korea
• Hongdo Information Center (DIOINNO + JHKA), South Korea
• Hotel Solitaire, Seoul, South Korea
• Unduk-Naru, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped DIOINNO ARCHITECTURE PLLC achieve 15th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

14. aoa architects

© aoa architects

Architecture is nothing. However, architecture is more significant than any other aspect in our lives. Architecture is not a hero. Architecture is just a stage of our living. We do not want architecture to say a lot of language to come forward from the surroundings. As people live healthier within clean air, we want architecture to be a clean, pure and honest artifact that holds human life silently. We do not believe architecture will change the world, and we do not work in order to change the world through architecture. For now, we, aoa architects, are about to construct the architecture with architecture itself without a meta-discourse beyond architecture.

Some of aoa architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Chubby Cat House, Seoul, South Korea
• ㄷHouse (digeut-jip), Eumseong-gun, South Korea
• villa mangwon – stacked house, Seoul, South Korea
• Male-female House, Seoul, South Korea
• villa Jeju, Seogwipo-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped aoa architects achieve 14th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

13. Archium

© Archium

Archium is an architecture design firm based in Seoul, with projects centered around large-scale residential architecture.

Some of Archium’s most prominent projects include:

• Persona, Seoul, South Korea
• Bauzium Sculpture Gallery, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• Khmeresque, Battambang, Cambodia
• Gilmosery, Seoul, South Korea
• Lacustrine, Chuncheon-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped Archium achieve 13th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

12. ArchiWorkshop

© ArchiWorkshop

We are architects who think, create, enjoy and share everyday architecture.

Some of ArchiWorkshop’s most prominent projects include:

• Glamping on the Rock, South Korea
• Mobile Library, Seoul, South Korea
• House Embracing Sky, Seoul, South Korea
• White Cube Mangwoo, Seoul, South Korea
• ArchiGlam_Glamping, South Korea

The following statistics helped ArchiWorkshop achieve 12th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

11. Mass Studies

Photography (C) Yong-Kwan Kim - © Mass Studies

Mass Studies was founded in 2003 by Minsuk Cho in Seoul, Korea, as a critical investigation of architecture in the context of mass production, intensely overpopulated urban conditions, and other emergent cultural niches that define contemporary society. Amid the many frictions defining spatial conditions in the twenty-first century, namely past vs. future, local vs. global, utopia vs. reality, and individual vs. collective, Mass Studies focuses on the operative complexity of these multiple conditions instead of striving for a singular, unified perspective.

For each architectural project, which exists across a wide range of scales, Mass Studies explores issues such as spatial systems/matrices, building materials/techniques, and typological divergences to foster a vision that allows the discovery of new socio/cultural potential.

Some of Mass Studies’ most prominent projects include:

• Daum Space.1
• Southcape Owner’s Club – Clubhouse, Yeosu, South Korea
• Bundle Matrix: S-Trenue, Seoul, South Korea
• Missing Matrix Building: Boutique Monaco, Seoul, South Korea
• Ann Demeulemeester Shop, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped Mass Studies achieve 11th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

10. HAEAHN Architecture

© HAEAHN Architecture

HAEAHN Architecture, marking its 34th anniversary this year, has been continuously striving to design valuable urban environmental projects based on creativity and innovation since its establishment in 1990.

HAEAHN has been in alliance with H Architecture, New York, USA, since 2011 and established several overseas offices, which have greatly contributed to its extensive growth in becoming a world-standard architectural design firm. Overseas offices such as, Baghdad Branch Office, Republic of Iraq, in 2014, Ho Chi Minh City Branch Office, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in 2018.

Some of HAEAHN Architecture’s most prominent projects include:

• National Assembly Communication Building, Seoul, South Korea
• Hwaseong Hambaeksan Memorial Park, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• KINTEX 3rd Exhibition Center, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Baseball Dream Park, Daejeon, South Korea
• National Aviation Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped HAEAHN Architecture achieve 10th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

9. OBBA

© OBBA

OBBA, Office for Beyond Boundaries Architecture, is an international architecture studio founded in May 2012 by Sojung Lee and Sangjoon Kwak, in Seoul, Korea, committed to multiple options and blended solutions in the context of a fast-changing society and emerging issues, with an integral vision, not a piecemeal cognition.

OBBA’s design approach starts from a critical survey of the surrounding environment – urban conditions, existing architecture and a spectrum of elements of daily life. Rather than chase a utopian thought, it is a process of investigating the social issues of today and proposing realistic solutions through design.

OBBA’s focus is on the synergistic boundaries where different fields intersect and form relationships, widening and developing their expertise through various disciplines and multiple spheres. As a boundary crosser, OBBA seeks new challenges, welcoming the symbiosis of fluctuating boundaries rather than following conventional ways.

Some of OBBA’s most prominent projects include:

• The Vault House, Hadong-gun, South Korea
• The Oasis, Yongin-si, South Korea
• HWN HQ, Seoul, South Korea
• Daehan Yeonhyang, Seoul, South Korea
• Beyond the Screen, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped OBBA achieve 9th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

8. Yong Ju Lee Architecture

© Yong Ju Lee Architecture

Yong Ju Lee, AIA, is the principal of Seoul-based Yong Ju Lee Architecture. He has been working on stimulating design for everyday life in multiple scales and media. His works are presented worldwide, such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and the Venice Biennale. He also received world-renowned awards, including the Korean Public Architecture Award, iF Design Award and Design Vanguard.

Some of Yong Ju Lee Architecture’s most prominent projects include:

• Hoehyeon Community, Seoul, South Korea
• Myeonmok Fire Station, Seoul, South Korea
• Root Bench, Seoul, South Korea
• Dispersion, Suwon, South Korea
• Machum House, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped Yong Ju Lee Architecture achieve 8th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

7. L’EAU design

© L'EAU design Co.,Ltd.

L’EAU Design is a group seeking such an environment as falling under a comprehensive sense, and attempting to establish the relationship with architectural design.

“Environment” includes meanings of social and cultural conditions that influence human lifestyle, as well as ecological and built environments.

L’EAU Design, since its establishment in 2000, has been pursuing a total design focused on Architecture and Urbanism, Renovation and Interior Design, Environmental Design, in order to architecturally design diverse concerns amid the better ‘human environment,’ which is based on our research about the social and cultural background of humans.

Some of L’EAU design’s most prominent projects include:

• Matryoshka, Korea
• Spacumer, Seoul, South Korea
• Jeju BAYHILL POOL & VILLA _ EGOISTIC CROPPING, Seogwipo-si, South Korea
• Cosmos Intime, Gwangju, South Korea
• ID Hospital, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped L'EAU design Co.,Ltd. achieve 7th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

6. UTAA

© UTAA

Architecture is an ongoing collaborative process, never the result of just one person’s idea. We aspire to create a small but strong experimental organization and design enjoyable spaces. We firmly believe that the most ordinary things can produce extraordinary results, rather than relying on flashy, attention-grabbing designs. Within the various constraints given, we aim to organize spaces as honestly and clearly as possible, while cherishing the joining and handling of each material.

Innovative and distinctive design starts from the very ordinary buildings that exist in our surroundings, in our cities. Just as in the past, and moving forward, UTAA Architecture seeks to contribute to creating healthy homes and warm spaces in urban buildings together with our clients.

Some of UTAA’s most prominent projects include:

• Sowuju, Seogwipo-si, South Korea
• Round House(Donggeuran Jip), Gimcheon-si, South Korea
• Jeju ‘BNB BeljinWooyoung’, Jeju-si, South Korea
• Black Box, Seongnam-si, South Korea
• Boseong House, Boseong-gun, South Korea

The following statistics helped UTAA achieve 6th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

5. stpmj

© stpmj

stpmj is an award-winning design practice based in New York and Seoul. The office was founded by Seung Teak Lee and Mi Jung Lim with the agenda of “provocative realism.” It is a series of synergetic explorations that occur on the boundary between the ideal and the real, based on simplicity of form and detail, clarity of structure, excellence in environmental function, use of new materials and rational management of budget. To these, we add ideas generated from curiosity in everyday life as we pursue a methodology for dramatically exploiting the limitations of reality. Resulting from new perspectives, our work is nuanced yet bold and represents a reaction against architectural clichés.

Some of stpmj’s most prominent projects include:

• Invisible Barn, Truckee, California
• The Surface, Gwacheon-si, South Korea
• Stratum House, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Shear House, Yecheon-gun, South Korea
• Red Chimney, Jeju-do, South Korea

The following statistics helped stpmj achieve 5th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

4. Suh Architects

© Kyungsub Shin

With every project, Suh Architects is defined by the marriage of function and verve. It does not adhere to a predetermined style and expects its architecture to outlast current trends. Buildings must not only make sense spatially and in an intangible way, but also keep the rain out, heat in, and stay within budget. The firm is well aware that this sort of harmony is only made possible by maintaining consistent standards and fully understanding its clients’ needs.

Its founder, Eulho Suh, is directly involved in the design and execution of each project from its initial conception, through planning, construction, and completion. With every project, spatial clarity and human scale are foremost; subsequent details are held to the highest standard of execution.

Some of Suh Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• HYUNDAI SONGPA, Seoul, South Korea
• GENESIS SUJI, Yongin-si, South Korea
• JEONBUK HYUNDAI MOTORS FC CLUBHOUSE, Wanju-gun, South Korea
• GENESIS STUDIO, Hanam-si, South Korea
• HYUNDAI MOTORSTUDIO, Seoul, South Korea

The following statistics helped Suh Architects achieve 4th place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

3. Moon Hoon

© Namgoong Sun

Moon Hoon is a practice located in Seoul, South Korea. The design philosophy behind its architecture lies in movies, comics and graffiti and advocates a playful design attitude towards architecture.

Some of Moon Hoon’s most prominent projects include:

• Two Moon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Pino Familia, Seoul, South Korea
• Wind House, Jeju-si, South Korea
• Simple House, Jeju-si, South Korea
• Busan Times, Busan, South Korea

The following statistics helped Moon Hoon achieve 3rd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

2. IROJE KHM Architects

© IROJE KHM Architects

IROJE KHM Architects is many kinds of many-award-winning architectural office in Seoul, Korea. Kim Hyo Man, the principal of IROJE KHM Architects, is an architect, a concurrent professor of the graduate school of architecture and an editorial adviser of an architectural magazine.

Some of IROJE KHM Architects’ most prominent projects include:

• Ga On Jai, Kwangmyŏng, Korea, Republic of
• Kyeong Dok Jai, Goyang-si, South Korea
• Tetris Nursery, Dobong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• STELLA FIORE, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, South Korea
• HWA HUN, South Korea

The following statistics helped IROJE KHM Architects achieve 2nd place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

1. Studio Gaon

© Studio Gaon

“Completed by time, an architecture with moving spaces.”

Studio_Gaon was founded in 1998 and is represented by Lim Hyoung-nam and Roh Eun-joo. Gaon means ‘center’ in Korean. We carries out various urban and architectural projects. The architecture we pursue harmonizes with nature and contemplates the locality of Korea and the present nature of architecture.

We are particularly interested in traditional architecture featuring the locality of Korea and Seoul, where we are mainly active. From our point of view, the biggest feature of Korean architecture is the movement of space, compared to other oriental architectures such as those of Japan and China.

Some of Studio Gaon’s most prominent projects include:

• The House With Four Wings, Incheon, South Korea
• Jetavana Buddhist Temple, Chuncheon-si, South Korea
• Labyrinthos, South Korea
• Casa Gaia, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, South Korea
• House of January, House on the Demarcation, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, South Korea

The following statistics helped Studio Gaon achieve 1st place in the 30 Best Architecture Firms in Seoul:

Why Should I Trust Architizer’s Ranking?

With more than 30,000 architecture firms and over 130,000 projects within its database, Architizer is proud to host the world’s largest online community of architects and building product manufacturers. Its celebrated A+Awards program is also the largest celebration of architecture and building products, with more than 400 jurors and hundreds of thousands of public votes helping to recognize the world’s best architecture each year.

Architizer also powers firm directories for a number of AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapters nationwide, including the official directory of architecture firms for AIA New York.

An example of a project page on Architizer with Project Award Badges highlighted

A Guide to Project Awards

The blue “+” badge denotes that a project has won a prestigious A+Award as described above. Hovering over the badge reveals details of the award, including award category, year, and whether the project won the jury or popular choice award.

The orange Project of the Day and yellow Featured Project badges are awarded by Architizer’s Editorial team, and are selected based on a number of factors. The following factors increase a project’s likelihood of being featured or awarded Project of the Day status:

• Project completed within the last 3 years
• A well-written, concise project description of at least 3 paragraphs
• Architectural design with a high level of both functional and aesthetic value
• High-quality, in-focus photographs
• At least 8 photographs of both the interior and exterior of the building
• Inclusion of architectural drawings and renderings
• Inclusion of construction photographs

There are 7 Projects of the Day each week and a further 31 Featured Projects. Each Project of the Day is published on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories, while each Featured Project is published on Facebook. Each Project of the Day also features in Architizer’s Weekly Projects Newsletter and shared with 170,000 subscribers.

We’re constantly look for the world’s best architects to join our community. If you would like to understand more about this ranking list and learn how your firm can achieve a presence on it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at editorial@architizer.com.

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