Ewha held the 12th Kim Ok-gill Memorial lecture at the Welch-Ryang Auditorium on Sept. 20. This year’s lecture was given under the theme of “Rethinking Locality in Architecture” by three world-renowned architects: Seung H-Sang, Wang Shu, and Nishizawa Ryue from Korea, China, and Japan, respectively, who shared their own perspective on locality in architecture. A total of 3,000 people attended the lecture, including Ewha President Kim Sun-uk, Chairperson Chang Myong-sue, and many architecture major professors and students in and out of Ewha. Nishizawa Ryue, a noted Japanese architect and the winner of the Pritzker Architectural Prize, which is one of the most prestigious architectural awards in the world, first lectured with examples of his real works related to locality. “When we think about the difference, universalism appears,” Nishizawa said. “In addition, when I think about localism, internationalism appears together.” The next speaker, Seung H-Sang, the sole Korean architect to be invited to the 2012 Venezia Biennale, took his turn to give a lecture under the title “Domestic Landscape.” “All building structures are meant to collapse; however, what is really important is the truth and memories of living together,” Seung said. The second session went on with a lecture under the title of “Return to the Picturesque World” by Wang Shu, who is the only Chinese architect to have received the Pritzker Architectural Prize. “I strongly emphasize preserving the beauty of the nature in East Asia, and at the same time, observing the morals and ethics,” Wang said. “Therefore, I believe that gathering together with these specialists to discuss locality means discussing the future of the whole world.” Students majoring in architecture who participated in the lecture were motivated by the speeches. “It was definitely a great honor to attend this lecture given by three famous architects who represent Korea, China and Japan,” Kim Joo-jin (Architecture, 3) said. “Although I could not fully catch up with their lectures, I was very inspired by them and had some ideas spring up in my head.” The Kim Ok-gill memorial lecture runs with four related programs in total, including the special lecture on Sept. 20, not just remaining at providing a one-off lecture. It will host a post-forum along with a discussion with specialists in architecture on Oct. 8. Also, it aims to hold an education and publishing program from September to December.