This year’s Korea Young Architect Awards went to architects Choi Yeon-yung and Lee See-woong of Apparat-C Architects, Cho Yoon-hee of Gubo Architects and Kang Woo-hyun and Kang Young-jin of Archihood WxY.

A total of 49 teams were considered for the annual prize, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in announcing the winners on Tuesday.

The award program was organized jointly by the Korea Architects Institute, Korean Institute of Architects and the Korean Institute of Female Architects.

Apparat-C Architects was chosen for their eccentric, paradoxical expression of contemporary Korean society, the ministry said.

Gubo Architects, meanwhile, was recognized for their socially responsible architecture that offered a solution to urbanization problems, such as The Pole House in Yongsan and Work From Home in Jongno.

Archihood WxY was rewarded for being able to come up with the most reasonable solutions under specific circumstances and their work that showed a consistent aesthetic. The team won the Korean Architecture Awards in 2018 with the boutique resort Seorimyeonga in Muju, North Jeolla Province.

The Korea Young Architect Award was established in 2008 to discover and support up-and-coming architects. Winners are given opportunities to exhibit and publish their works as well as participate in architectural events in and out of Korea.

An awards ceremony will be held on Nov. 11 at Culture Station Seoul 284 as part of the 2021 Korean Architecture and Culture Festival, along with an exhibition of the awardees’ past works.