An Apartment Complex as a Complete City … A National Flagship Model for 'Luxury Living'
Apartments are evolving beyond mere living spaces into 'a single city' that integrates landscaping, community facilities, and lifestyle services. Beyond achieving architectural completeness and practical functionality, continuous attempts are being made to incorporate essential living elements within complexes, including safe pedestrian walkways, culture, leisure, and childcare facilities, as well as advanced smart technology.
The '30th Best Apartment to Live in Awards,' hosted by Maeil Business Newspaper, focused on this trend. Co-hosted by Maekyung Media Group and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport since 1996, the competition aims to lead development and transformation in residential culture. This year, outstanding apartments that well reflect efforts to enhance residents' quality of life beyond just providing shelter were named award recipients.
DK ASIA’s 'Geomam Station Royal Park City Prugio,' which took home the top overall Grand Prize, is a mini-city scale large complex of 4,805 households located in Baekseok-dong, Geomdan-gu, Incheon. DK ASIA built hotel-level community spaces including a swimming pool, fitness center, golf practice range, sauna, and cultural facilities.
It also features a European-style garden where residents can enjoy nature across all four seasons with large trees, themed gardens, and walking trails. Various lifestyle services such as dining, healthcare, and transportation are also provided. Direct face-to-face medical care linked with St. Mary’s Hospital at Catholic Kwandong University and the in-complex three-meals-a-day service serve as primary examples. DK ASIA also expanded infrastructure around the complex by building and donating an elementary school and kindergarten. Even after occupancy, the developer has continued to invest in enhancing community features, an exceptional case in the construction industry. It was praised not only for presenting a new residential concept of a 'resort city,' but also as a complex whose residential value increases post-occupancy.
GH (Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation)'s 'Dongtan Lake Park Nature & Xi,' which also won a main award, was evaluated as having raised the quality standards of public housing to the next level. Although it is public housing with long-term lease characteristics, it received high praise for offering product value comparable to private apartments in terms of complex design, finishing materials, parking lot planning, and community layout. In particular, it supplied 965 households across five different unit layout types for the highly preferred 84㎡ exclusive area size. In addition to creating a bright and pleasant complex through an open south-facing arrangement, it left low-rise sections open to connect with the adjacent park, creating a complex that communicates with its surrounding environment.
Wumi Construction's 'Osan Segyo Wumi Lynn Central City,' which shared the top award honors, is a large complex of 1,532 households located in the Osan Segyo 2 district of Gyeonggi Province. Despite being adjacent to major roads, it earned favorable reviews for lowering perceived noise through soundproofing and layout planning, while achieving a pleasant residential environment with abundant plantings and a natural ecological pond. Its central garden 'Soo, Mok, Won' won in the spatial category at the K-Design Award 2025 as a specialized landscape design.
In the major developer category, GS E&C's 'Yeongdeungpo Xi Dignity' took the Top Excellence Award. It transformed an old semi-industrial zone into a high-end residential complex, creating new value for urban living. The complex consists of 4 buildings ranging from 2 basement levels to up to 35 stories, totaling 707 households. It is located immediately adjacent to Yangpyeong Station on Seoul Subway Line 5. Large hypermarkets such as Lotte Mart and Costco are within walking distance, and major amenities including Hyundai, Lotte, and Shinsegae department stores, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, and Mokdong Stadium lie within a 2km radius.
The Top Excellence Award in the mid-sized developer category went to Bando Construction's 'Ubora Cheonan Dujeong Station.' Consisting of 2 basement levels and up to 39 stories with 556 total units, it drew attention as a super-station-front complex with minimized access routes following the opening of Exit 2 at Dujeong Station. An advanced Internet of Things (IoT) system allows smart control over home appliances, lighting, and heating.
Selected for the Top Excellence Award in the reconstruction category, Lotte E&C's 'Jamsil Le El' is an integrated reconstruction of the former Miseong and Clover apartments in Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. It is a large complex of 13 buildings with 3 basement levels and up to 35 floors, totaling 1,865 units. Applying Lotte E&C's high-end brand 'Le El,' it was praised for its premium quality. As a triple station area near Jamsil Station (Lines 2 and 8), Jamsilnaeru Station (Line 2), and Songpanaeru Station (Line 9), it offers easy commuting across Gangnam and all of Seoul.
In the urban redevelopment category, Doosan Construction's 'Doosan We've the Zenith Ocean City,' built through the Woam 2 district housing redevelopment project in Nam-gu, Busan, won the Top Excellence Award. Located adjacent to the Busan North Port integrated development zone, it was recognized for contributing to the residential environment improvement of the old city center and the formation of a new residential town. Spanning 5 basement levels up to 34 stories across 29 buildings, it is considered a landmark complex in the area. Utilizing height differences of up to 90 meters, the developer arranged the complex in a stepped layout and introduced terraced structures, turning a steep terrain disadvantage into a design advantage.
Receiving the Top Excellence Award in the housing welfare category, SH (Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation)'s 'Magok M-Valley 17th Complex' consists of 2 basement levels and up to 16 stories with 577 units. It themed four blocks naturally formed along public walkways into small-scale village units and created individual courtyards, creating a multi-dimensional street connecting the four themed villages...