Professor Park Ji-hyun Receives IWBI ‘Rising Star Award’ N
- Date2026.02.23
- 857
Professor Park Ji-hyun of the Department of Architecture in the College of Engineering atEwha Womans University, who also serves as Associate Director of the Ewha Institute for Global Social Contribution (EGISC), has received the “Rising Star Award” conferred by theInternational WELL Building Institute(IWBI), earning official recognition as a next-generation global leader in the field of WELL (health and well-being in the built environment).
Professor Park Ji-hyun | Professor Park Ji-hyun presenting at the 2nd World Health City Forum
The IWBI Rising Star Award is a global individual honor presented to emerging professionals who have contributed to the expansion of the WELL movement and the generation of tangible project outcomes, while broadening WELL’s impact across research, practice, and industry. Rather than recognizing simple academic achievements or single project performances, the award comprehensively evaluates recipients based on their demonstrated impact and potential in translating WELL into measurable spatial performance, operational systems, and asset strategies.
Professor Park has continuously conducted research and practice linking WELL, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), and ESG across the fields of architecture, urbanism, and environmental studies. She has proposed strategic application models to ensure that WELL does not remain merely a “certification system that is well obtained,” but instead leads to tangible improvements in occupants’ health and productivity, as well as operational performance in real spaces. In particular, her work in establishing and implementing WELL strategies for large-scale commercial building projects—building frameworks that ensure WELL standards function effectively not only during the design phase but also throughout the operational phase—was highly regarded in this award selection.
Through WELL-based spatial strategies, Professor Park has advanced comprehensive improvements in IEQ performance, including air quality, water quality, lighting, thermal comfort, and acoustic environments, and has presented frameworks that connect these improvements to asset management and operational performance. This approach has been recognized as an example of expanding WELL beyond a checklist-style certification into an integrated spatial operation strategy centered on health and well-being.
This award is significant not only as recognition of individual project achievements, but also as international acknowledgment of Professor Park’s sustained efforts to connect research, practice, and industry as a next-generation global expert in the WELL field. Notably, her selection as an official “Rising Star” within the global WELL network marks a meaningful case in which a researcher affiliated with a Korean university has been recognized at the international level, demonstrating how Korea’s health and well-being strategies in architecture and urbanism are being aligned with global standards.
Professor Park remarked, “I believe this award represents not merely a personal achievement, but the collective result of numerous projects and collaborations that have worked together to ensure that WELL can function as a practical strategic tool in Korea. Moving forward, I hope to continue bridging research and practice so that healthy built environments can extend beyond individual buildings to cities and society at large.”
This achievement also aligns with the Department of Architecture’s research-practice integrated educational direction at Ewha Womans University, and demonstrates how the sustainability, ESG, and social value creation strategies pursued by the Ewha Institute for Global Social Contribution are leading to tangible international outcomes. Professor Park plans to continue connecting the University’s research achievements with public-sector and private-sector projects to further disseminate health- and well-being-based architectural and urban strategies.