Chung-Ang University, Seoul

Sustainable Urban Facade Origin8 Hackathon 2026

Proven where
it matters

6 → 8.5
Average rise in participants' self-rated originality, in a single session
90%+
of participants rate the experience meaningful or very meaningful
4.5 / 5
average meaningfulness rating across cohorts
100+
challenges reframed in past sessions
FAQ

Return the facade to its origin. Each team selects a real site in Korea, a data center, warehouse, hospital, station, school, nursing home, or neglected public space, and designs a media facade that gives back to that place, its people, and nature.

A one-day hackathon marking 100 years of Gaudí. Students design media facades for real places in Seoul that give back to the city and to nature, learning to originate, not generate.
Experience Description

A hundred years after Gaudí learned to build from nature, media facades have lost their origin. They sell, they glare, they ignore the people walking past. In one day, and in the age of AI, students of Chung-Ang University's Graduate School of Virtual Convergence design building skins that give back to the city and to nature. Working in teams with the Origin8 method, they choose a real place in Seoul, define a real need, and build a living media facade concept with mentors beside them all day, closing with a pitch to a jury. Selected work is exhibited publicly at a gallery at COEX in August. Part of the Back to the Origins campaign, marking 100 years of Antoni Gaudí (1926–2026).

How It Works

A mandatory online pre-session (July 20) introduces the Origin8 method and forms the teams.

On the day: keynotes, a facilitated Origin8 session to lock each team's concept by lunch, an afternoon build with mentoring and a concept checkpoint, submission of a short visual piece and one-page concept, 2.5-minute pitches to the jury, and awards.

Benefits

Exhibition of winning work at COEX and candidacy for international exhibition. Mentorship to develop winning work to exhibition standard. A Gaudí Centenary Certificate and entrance tickets to the Gaudí: Back to the Origins exhibition for every participant. A portfolio piece and a day working alongside practitioners

For Whom

Undergraduate and graduate students of the Graduate School of Virtual Convergence, Chung-Ang University. Run in English with bilingual support.

How to Book

Register via Luma by July 18, 2026. Places are limited to 50 students. Contact: hello@originateinstitute.com

The venue
The hackathon takes place on the Chung-Ang University campus, hosted by the Graduate School of Virtual Convergence. Selected work is later exhibited at a gallery at COEX (August).
Learn more
Impact stories

They already experienced Origin8 in action