The Space building, an early modern work of architecture that was on the auction block last week after the building owner filed for bankruptcy, may be purchased by the Kim Swoo Geun Foundation, as 1 billion won ($942,000) was raised in five days via a social funding initiative.

The social funding initiative was launched Nov. 18 as an attempt to save the historic building and register it as a cultural heritage site.

“We plan to purchase the building through social funding and begin the process of turning the building into public property,” said the Kim Swoo Geun Foundation, which was created in memory of the late architect Kim Swoo-geun, the designer of the Space building and pioneering figure of modern architecture in Korea. In a statement, the foundation said it plans to raise a total of 10 billion won to purchase the property.

The Space building, owned by the architectural firm Space Group, was put up for auction last week but failed to attract bidders.

The bidding for the set of three buildings that make up the company’s headquarters started at 15 billion won.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that the building designed by architect Kim will be reviewed for registration as a cultural heritage site early next year after a thorough inspection.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)