Recently, maritime cities such as Busan, Incheon and Changwon are promoting large-scale complex development tocreate waterfronts as water-friendly spaces for citizens. Based on this background, this thesis tries to approach waterfrontresearch from an architectural planning perspective by limiting the scope more than the current urban planning perspective. Thisis because, in order to revitalize the waterfront space, macroscopic urban planning and detailed architectural planning must becarried out simultaneously. Therefore, what characteristics should be planned for waterfront buildings and external spaces werederived through case study. For this purpose, Hafencity in Germany and Minato Mirai 21 in Japan were selected for thisanalysis. As a case analysis framework, the characteristics of the waterfront were drawn, compared, and analyzed by dividingthem into three areas: building layout plan, exterior form plan, and external space plan. Through this, the following conclusionswere drawn. First, in the building layout plan of the waterfront, it is necessary to divide the approach into a block near thewaterfront and an internal block in consideration of the characteristics of the ocean. Second, in the exterior form plan,systematic building height and mass planning are crucial to create a distinctive urban image of the region. Lastly, in externalspace planning, a strategy to vitalize the street for pedestrians is important, and in open space planning, a three-dimensionaldesign is needed to ensure water-friendly for citizens.