Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 166

Architects love to design small buildings called pavilions. It’s like artists getting to paint on a small canvas, where they can try out new ideas without big rules.

Pavilions are special. Designers have ideas they can’t always use when building big buildings for clients. There are often too many rules or disagreements.

Pavilions are like a testing ground where they can freely try out new ideas.

When Woojin first talked about a pavilion for the Parafield lobby, Bruno thought about designing it himself.

It was a chance for Bruno to create exactly what he wanted, and Paramount, a big company, would pay him well.

But the idea didn’t last long.

But then Bruno saw the excitement in Woojin’s eyes as he spoke about the pavilion. Bruno changed his mind.

‘What amazing thing will my friend create this time?’

Woojin had surprised Bruno ever since their first meeting at the design competition.

Bruno was eager to see what innovative design this young and exceptional designer would present this time.

Really, it made sense for Woojin to design it. He was the one who made this project possible.

But more than just what was sensible, Bruno really wanted to see Woojin’s design.

So, Bruno was looking forward to this meeting.

Jayden had told Bruno stories that made him even more excited to see Woojin’s design.

You’re going to love it, Bruno,” Jayden had said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

Bruno raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You’ve already seen Woojin’s design, have you?

Jayden chuckled, shaking his head. “Seen it? Bruno, I practically *lived* with it for weeks!”

“Hmm?” Bruno leaned forward, intrigued.

Well,” Jayden continued, puffing out his chest slightly, “someone has to be Woojin’s amazing sidekick, right? Someone has to make sure the genius doesn’t get lost in his own brilliance.” He winked. “Let’s just say, without my *gentle* guidance…” He trailed off, then added quickly, “Of course, Woojin’s a genius anyway, but still! Jayden is…” He finished with a flourish, leaving Bruno chuckling and even more curious.

Bruno briefly remembered that conversation with Jayden from a few days ago, chuckled, and shook his head.

Jayden was a little strange, but he was clearly a very talented designer.

The office had become much more fun this year because of Jayden.

‘It would be nice if Jayden was just a little more careful.’

Just as Bruno was thinking this, Jayden’s loud voice came from outside.

“Hey Boss! Hurry up and come in!”

“Long time no see, Woojin. What have you been up to lately?”

Bruno greeted Woojin warmly, speaking a mix of Korean and English.

Woojin smiled and greeted him in return.

Surprisingly, something resembling English came out of Woojin’s mouth.

“I’ve been doing well, Bruno. I’m keeping cool. And you?”

Woojin felt bad that Bruno always tried to speak Korean to him. So, Woojin learned some English from Soyeon. Soyeon was studying English very hard.

Soyeon, who had taught him English, put her hand to her face in embarrassment.

Jayden also sighed deeply.

“Soyeon, please don’t teach Woojin English.”

“Why?”

“It’s terrible English!”

Despite the two’s attacks, Woojin simply shrugged.

“What can I do? It’s hard for me to pronounce English words correctly.”

Looking at him, Soyeon and Jayden simultaneously sighed deeply.

“Holy……”

“Haa…….”

Woojin was so cheerful right away that Bruno laughed loudly.

It wasn’t exactly helpful for communication, but it was amusing to see him speaking in broken English, however awkward it may be.

“I’ve been doing well too, Woojin.”

Bruno was eager to see the pavilion design. He didn’t want to spend too much time listening to Woojin’s English.

So, they went back to using translators, like they usually did.

Bruno had a translator on standby, and Woojin had Soyeon.

“You must have been very busy getting the design ready?”

“I was busy indeed. But Jayden and Soyeon were a great help.”

“Hmm. Jayden was helpful, you say?”

“Bloody Hell!”

“Haha, of course. Jayden is a designer with outstanding potential.”

They sat down in the conference room and chatted while drinking. Drinks had been prepared in advance.

Bruno and Woojin mostly talked.

Before showing the pavilion design, Bruno and Woojin shared updates on the design.

“I’ve reviewed the email you referenced last time.”

“You mean the email I sent to Parafield? The final design?”

“Yes, Bruno. It seems the coordination went well without any major changes from the original plan?”

“I was lucky that the Paramount person we worked with was easy to get along with. I was also surprised they gave us a lot of money for it.”

“I also spoke with them the day before yesterday, and they seemed eager to revamp the image tarnished by the Taeho Construction corruption scandal. They asked me to make sure everything goes well until it’s finished.”

“Ah.”

“People will criticize Paramount more if the building doesn’t look good. I think that’s what they’re worried about.”

“I see.”

“The important bosses at Paramount are watching closely too. So, it must be stressful for the person in charge.”

Even though Bruno was the main architect, Woojin’s studio, WJ Studio, also helped design Parafield.

So, Woojin carefully looked at the final design. This made Bruno trust him even more.

‘He’s definitely professional.’

Woojin didn’t really need to check the finished design so carefully. He was just helping out. But he still looked at every small detail and gave Bruno feedback.

Woojin looked at the drawings for every floor, from top to bottom.

He carefully compared them to the first designs to see what had changed.

He opened the drawing of the bottom floor, where the lobby would be.

Then, Woojin took out the USB he had brought.

It had the design for the pavilion, which he had worked on very hard for weeks.

“Bruno.”

“Yes, Woojin.”

“The most important parts of our design are how people move through the space and the natural light, right?’

Woojin started talking about it, and Bruno nodded, looking interested.

“Indeed.”

The Wangsimni Parafield, designed by Bruno, had several design elements, but the ones Bruno paid the most attention to were the flow of users and the natural light.

Especially the sunlight that comes down into the underground space through the diamond-shaped glass roof.

Bruno designed the building above ground and angled the glass so that sunlight would flow down into the underground levels, all along the path people would walk.

The lobby, where Woojin’s pavilion would be, was exactly where this beautiful sunlight came in and filled the space.

While the file loaded on the screen, Woojin took out a sketch from his pocket. He had drawn it to show his idea.

He had drawn lots of messy red lines on top of a 3D drawing of Parafield.

“What is this?”

Woojin answered simply.

“These lines show how the sunlight comes through the glass roof.”

“Oh ho.”

“And these lines will be the most important part of the pavilion design I’m about to show you.”

When Woojin said this, Bruno looked at the sketch again, very closely.

He tried to understand how these lines were important to the pavilion design.

‘Hmm…….’

But after a moment, Bruno couldn’t help but tilt his head.

Looking at the sketch, Bruno thought Woojin might create a geometric sculpture. It would be shaped like the lines in the drawing.

‘Well, even if the pavilion looks like that, it would still be good, I think…’

Even if two designs use the same idea, they can look very different depending on how the designer creates them and how skilled they are.

So, Bruno stopped trying to guess and just waited, looking at the screen.

The sketch didn’t seem that amazing by itself.

He wanted to talk more about it after seeing Woojin’s design on the screen.

“Okay, then let’s start by showing you the design first.”

But the very next moment…

Bruno had been looking at the screen calmly. But suddenly, he jumped up from his chair without even thinking.

Many diamond shapes seemed to float and move through the lobby.

The Parafield lobby was a tall, open space, going up from the lowest underground floor through many levels.

It was like watching a school of small fish swimming in the sea. Many diamond shapes flowed gracefully along the edges of the lobby.

As soon as Bruno saw the design, he forgot all his guesses and worries.

He just started to admire the design, forgetting everything else.

‘Haha…….’

He even momentarily forgot the sketch that Woojin had shown him.

Before he could think about the ideas behind it, Bruno was just blown away by how it looked. It was amazing.

He still didn’t understand why Woojin’s sketch was so important to the design.

‘How on earth could he design such a form?’

Bruno’s gaze scanned every corner of the design carefully.

Looking at the diamond shapes that became smaller and larger, he could only admire them.

Creating thousands of shapes so perfectly and evenly in a 3D space would be impossible to do by hand.

‘What kind of program did he use to make this design?’

It was like looking at some amazing natural wonder.

Bruno couldn’t take his eyes off the screen, staring at it silently.

‘Yes, how it’s made and why are important… But in the end, a great design is something that just amazes you the moment you see it.’

Bruno is the director and architect who designed this entire space.

So, he could easily picture how this pavilion would fit perfectly into the lobby he had designed.

He could even imagine the parts of the pavilion he couldn’t see in the 3D model.

Thousands of diamond shapes flowing down from over twenty meters high, going through many floors.

It would be a huge pavilion that would feel powerful and fit perfectly with the glass roof Bruno had designed.

Looking up at it from below would feel incredibly grand.

Beauty in design is always a matter of opinion, but Bruno knew one thing for sure.

This was a new kind of beauty that he had never seen before.