A foreground view of the newly renovated lawn square

On December 14, 2022, the lawn square in front of the administrative building, which had long been under construction, opened after 20 months. The square, with an area of 12,700m², is accessible from either side of the administrative building, cultural center, student center and the entrance from the ring road, and there are benches available for rest. The renovated lawn square will be established as a space for communication and culture among members. 

On-site voting scene for the “Naming Contest for the Lawn Square in front of the Administrative Building” 

Lawn Square Reborn for Culture and Communication 

The lawn square, which has been in place since the relocation of the Gwanak Campus in 1975, has had many issues. The roads on both sides of the lawn square lead to the cultural center, administration building, University library, and student center which were used by many pedestrians. There were safety issues due to insufficient space for pedestrians, and this square was also open only for events, such as festivals. 

To resolve these problems, a full-scale maintenance project for the lawn square and its surroundings began in March 2021, and the lawn square, which had been covered with a screen, revealed its new look on December 14. The square with an area of 12,700m² is designed to allow unblocked passage by arranging access roads convenient from either side, such as the administrative building, cultural center, student center and the entrance from the ring road. Moreover, the square is designed to offer an environment for rest, which enhanced user convenience. In the basement, a parking lot was created to resolve the issues of insufficient parking spaces and pedestrian safety on campus. Parking allows for a total of 419 vehicles: 180 on the first basement floor and 239 on the second basement floor, in addition to 23 electric vehicle charging stations. Unlike the past, when four sides of campus were surrounded by roads, the current campus traffic route aimed mainly at pedestrians is created by separating the traffic lines of vehicles and pedestrians. Furthermore, a cascade, a stair-type hydroponic facility, and trees are established at the upper part of the lawn square. 

Prior to the opening of the lawn square, SNU held a “naming contest for the lawn square in front of the administrative building,” to collect candidate names from university members until December 2nd. Through screening by the members' representatives, “Lawn Square,” which inherited the existing name “Shine Square,” referring to a square for shiny SNU students, and “Neutimaru,” which includes hopes to embrace everyone like a zelkova tree and hold an open square for people like Daecheongmaru, were selected as finalists. 

Students hanging ornaments on the tree to vote

Anticipating a Space That Supports Dreams and Hopes of Students 

On-site voting was held with the opening of the lawn square. The on-site voting was organized by selecting ornaments of the colors that symbolized each candidate name and hanging one of them on the trees placed on both sides of the lawn square. Based on the on-site voting result with more than 1,000 participants, Lawn Square, which received 44% of the votes, was selected as the final name. 

The SNU held a ceremony to commemorate the creation of a walking-friendly campus from the main gate to the lawn square at 2:00 pm on the same day. Videos of students anticipating the campus' transformation with the lawn square and the main gate square were released as part of the ceremony, along with those featuring congratulations from National Assembly members Kihong Yoo and Taeho Jeong and Gwanak-gu Mayor Junhee Park. A plaque of appreciation was also given to the contractor who successfully completed the lawn square construction. 

Former President Sejung Oh said, “The lawn square is an open space for SNU, which will be utilized as a space where various members gather to form discourses, communicate, and attain harmony,” adding that “Hopefully, SNU will further develop into a university that shares extended learning, knowledge, art, and culture, and that practice exchanges with the local community in connection with the upcoming remodeling and reconstruction project of the cultural center.” We hope that the newly refurbished lawn square will be reborn as the center of the SNU campus as well as a communication hub.