Transforming Vacant Stores into Innovation Hubs: UNIST Hosts Public Design Exhibition

Vacant retail stores in the heart of Ulsan are transforming into vibrant laboratories for imagining the city’s future. From September 25 to November 1, UNIST will host the ‘Public Design Laboratory 2025: Envisioning Policies for a Carbon-Neutral Ulsan‘ exhibition in Samsan-dong, Nam-gu. Organized by the UNIST Center for Aiticipatory Urban Strategies and supported by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, the event aims to engage citizens directly in shaping sustainable urban policies.

This exhibition originated from the realities of Ulsan’s industrial landscape and urban vacancies. As of 2021, Ulsan ranks fourth nationwide in greenhouse gas emissions, emitting approximately 42.47 million tons annually. A city characterized by large industrial complexes, Ulsan also faces increasing commercial vacancies in its downtown areas. Instead of leaving these spaces unused, the UNIST team has transformed them into experimental venues for dialogue and innovation—spaces where citizens and the city can collaboratively explore solutions for urban regeneration and climate neutrality.

Professor Seungho Park-Lee of the Department of Design at UNIST emphasized, “We aimed to turn vacant stores into forums for citizen conversation. This exhibition is a social experiment in design’s role to foster dialogue and participation around future challenges.” He further added, “By reimagining these vacant spaces as citizen policy labs, we hope to demonstrate new possibilities for urban renewal and carbon neutrality.”

Interior of the ‘Public Design Laboratory 2025’ exhibition, installed behind the Ulsan branch of Hyundai Department Store.

Beyond a simple display, the event features a participatory design experiment centered on Ulsan’s transformation, with citizens actively imagining and proposing changes around the theme of urban mobility and development. Workshops, involving direct citizen engagement, will be held on September 25, October 31, and November 1, from 3:00 to 4:50 PM.

During the exhibition period, a special lecture will be delivered by Eunji Kang, co-founder of Dark Matter Labs Korea—a UK-based design and research consultancy working across more than 20 countries. At 1:30 PM on October 31, CEO Kang will speak on “Civic Economy: Building Citizen Communities through Sharing, Coexistence, Solidarity, and Care.” The talk will explore new avenues for urban communities shaped by design, citizen participation, and policy collaboration.

Citizen-led policy experiments presented through urban planning and public design initiatives at the exhibition.

The Public Design Laboratory 2025 aims to serve as a platform to restore urban publicness and promote citizen-led policy experimentation. Through this project, the UNIST Urban Future Strategy Research Center seeks to demonstrate how public design can act as a bridge between citizens and policymakers, fostering inclusive and innovative urban solutions.

Professor Jeongseob Kim of the Department of Civil, Urban, Earth and Environmental Engineering at UNIST, who also serves as the Director of th UNIST Center for Aiticipatory Urban Strategies, stated, “This exhibition and workshop series will serve as a new model for citizen participation in urban planning and public design, elevating awareness and engagement around carbon-neutral cities.”

The event will be held at an unused retail space behind the Ulsan branch of Hyundai Department Store. It is open to the public free of charge, with operating hours from 1:00 PM to 7:30 PM on weekdays and until 9:00 PM on weekends. Registration for workshops and lectures can be completed online at [https://naver.me/x6xnGaeB].

The UNIST Center for Aiticipatory Urban Strategies is a multidisciplinary hub dedicated to addressing regional urban issues, such as planning, transportation, and industrial transition. It continuously provides opportunities for citizens to participate in shaping the future of urban policy.