The government will build 10,000 “smart plus” buildings specializing in robots, drones, autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM) by 2035.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) announced a road map for the promotion of smart plus buildings as an innovation policy in the space sector to secure national growth drivers on Dec. 19.
MOLIT has been preparing the road map for the revitalization of smart plus buildings since February through the operation of an alliance involving 65 organizations from the industry, academia and research sectors, with Minister Won Hee-ryong and Inha University Professor Ha Heon-gu as co-chairs.
A smart plus building is defined as a building that provides space and a platform environment that is friendly to the technology of the fourth industrial revolution. For example, a parking lot for autonomous vehicles could be provided on the first floor of a pilotis building, the interior of the ground floor is designed for robot movement, and a UAM vertiport caps the structure.
In particular, as a representative case of building smart plus buildings, MOLIT plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a joint study on the application of smart plus building design to Seoul Express Bus Terminal, Gachon Gil Hospital, and the Goyang City and Seodaemun district government buildings and map out practical implementation plans.
A new construction site of Gachon Gil Hospital will be built as a disaster response building to help UAM systems transport emergency patients and have ward care robots. Buildings such as Ilsan KINTEX, Goyang City Hall, and Seodaemun City Hall will have UAM vertiports that can be connected to railroads.
To this end, a “Building Code Enforcement Decree” will be revised next year to create a new building use for UAM vertiports. The floor area ratio and building height ratio will be eased for vertiports with public functions. From 2025, MOLIT will develop technologies to secure safety such as rescue operations when operating UAM systems on building rooftops. In 2026, it will develop facility technology related to UAM movement and then promote the introduction of UAM systems from that time on.
The first robot-friendly apartment building will be promoted in Changneung, Goyang, the third new city area. The government, through the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), will launch a special design competition for the future architecture of the area in the first half of 2024. The public building renewal project will mix robotics with public services.
In preparation for the introduction of fully autonomous vehicles in 2027, parking spaces will be reduced or moved outside and a communication and guidance system will be built to facilitate connections between autonomous vehicles and buildings. MOLIT plans to add autonomous vehicle types to its public building renewal project next year. A revision of the Parking Lot Act, which eases the requirements to install external parking lots when considering autonomous driving will be promoted around 2030.
MOLIT plans to prepare matters to be considered when creating smart plus buildings next year and introduce a building certification system in 2025. It will also enact special laws to ease regulations, grant benefits, and support pioneering projects.