Taebean Lim Awarded the 2026 NRF Master's Student Research Grant

Taebean Lim, a master's student in the Department of Interior Architecture at Gachon University and a member of the Spatial Experience Lab (SELab) has been selected for the 2026 Master's Student Research Grant Programme in the Humanities and Social Sciences, funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) under the Ministry of Education.

The programme aims to support master's students in conducting independent research and developing their academic capabilities as emerging researchers. Selected recipients receive KRW 12 million in research funding over one year.

Since his undergraduate studies, Lim has explored the relationship between age-related physical and cognitive changes and spatial experience, developing his research interests through various design projects and academic studies.

Building on this work, his funded research, entitled ‘Behaviour-Based Accessibility Analysis of Senior Community Facilities: Considering Spatial Use Characteristics of Older Adults,’ will investigate how the spatial environments of senior community facilities support or constrain older adults' everyday activities.

The study aims to develop an analytical framework for evaluating accessibility through three behavioural dimensions: perception, movement, and social interaction. This framework will be applied to shared spaces within senior welfare centres in Seoul to identify spatial characteristics that facilitate or restrict older adults' use of these environments.

This research aligns with SELab's broader interest in understanding the relationship between people and space, with particular emphasis on spatial experience, human behaviour, and user-centred environments.

Congratulations to Taebean on this achievement!