Paldalgu Godeung-dong to Build 'Godeung-dong Harmony Center'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon City announced on the 25th that it has decided to construct the 'Godeung-dong Harmony Center' in Godeung-dong, Paldalgu, which will become a landmark and hub space for residents.

The Godeung-dong Harmony Center will be built at 61-7 Godeung-dong as a two-story structure with a total floor area of 392.31㎡. Construction will begin in early next month with completion scheduled for May next year.

The '24-Hour Whale-Back Community Sharing Hall' (hereinafter 'Whale-Back') will be housed in the Harmony Center. The 'Whale-Back,' which opened in July of last year by leasing the first floor of a building in Godeung-dong, is a temporary hub space for the Godeung-dong Urban Regeneration Project.

The Godeung-dong Harmony Center is more than three times larger than the current space occupied by Whale-Back (108.1㎡). When the Godeung-dong Harmony Center opens, more residents will be able to use Whale-Back comfortably.

Seminar rooms for meetings and workshops, community lounges and care spaces, shaded rest areas, and community gardens will be established. The book café frequently visited by residents will be significantly expanded.

The city held multiple resident briefing sessions and conducted detailed design of the Godeung-dong Harmony Center while communicating with residents. It actively incorporated residents' opinions to establish the optimal design plan.

The exterior is designed to harmonize with surrounding houses, and the interior is designed so residents can visit comfortably and use the facilities effectively. Residents' opinions were also reflected in determining the uses of facilities within the building.

The Godeung-dong Harmony Center received 'BF (Barrier-Free) Preliminary Certification' in April of last year. It plans to obtain full certification during the completion process. BF preliminary certification refers to certification granted before full certification by referring to project plans and design drawings.

'BF (Barrier-Free) Facilities' refers to facilities that are planned, designed, and constructed so that not only people with disabilities, the elderly, children, and pregnant women, but also temporarily disabled people and all others can access and use individual facilities and feel no inconvenience when moving.

The Whale-Back, which will be housed in the Godeung-dong Harmony Center, will feature shared refrigerators, shared kitchens, small libraries, and tool libraries. Within the small library, a Braille library for children will be established, and a 'Memory Album Digitization Project' will create digital albums of neighborhood nostalgic photos.

The 'Shared Refrigerator' is a refrigerator used by all, where anyone can fill it with food and those in need can take food, reducing food waste and forming an organic 'food network' in the neighborhood to restore community—a 'Love, Sharing, and Sharing Project.'

The Whale-Back shared refrigerator is always filled with food donated by residents. Elderly people living alone and residents in difficult circumstances open the refrigerator and take food filled with neighbors' care. When the refrigerator empties, it is soon filled again.

The 'Shared Kitchen' is a space where local residents cook together, share cooking tips, and share food. Cooking clubs made up of residents neatly package the food they make and place it in the shared refrigerator.

The 'Whale-Back Small Library' features adult and children's reading rooms with approximately 2,000 books and provides a 'Braille Picture Book Corner' for visually impaired children to use.