SH wins public design award for child-friendly housing initiative

The Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation has won the Korea Craft & Design Foundation president's award in the public policy category at the 2026 Korea Public Design Awards, in recognition of its research on creating child-friendly residential environments.

SH announced Monday that it received the award at the ceremony held Friday.

The Korea Public Design Awards is an annual event organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation to identify and honor outstanding public design projects and research. This year marked the first time a public policy category — evaluating the excellence of policies and systems — was included.

SH submitted four research outputs under the theme "Child-rearing-friendly housing: a child-friendly residential environment starting with public design."

Through a study developing evaluation indicators for a child-friendly home certification system, SH established comprehensive assessment criteria covering not only housing structure but also children's play and care facilities and community environments. A guidebook based on the research was cited in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 2025 childcare-friendly platform guidelines.

A separate study on residential mobility support for families with children in rental housing analyzed data from approximately 220,000 households and proposed a framework for supporting moves that takes into account housing size, the child's stage of development and proximity to caregiving family members.

SH also produced and distributed a booklet titled "For a residential environment where it is good to raise children" to help its staff better understand the challenges facing families with children and deliver housing services from a resident-centered perspective.

Another publication — "A home where it is good to live with children, a company where it is good to work" — documented the activities of SH's Low Birth Rate Overcoming Innovation Committee, covering child-rearing-friendly housing policy and efforts to build a work environment that supports balancing work and parenting.

SH said it plans to apply the research findings to its housing supply, management and residential welfare projects, and to expand support policies that families with children can tangibly feel.

"A home that is good for raising children is one equipped with an environment where families can raise their children with peace of mind," SH President Hwang Sang-ha said. "We will continue working to create a residential environment where both children and parents can live happily."