Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 197

Ethan watched Woojin on the stage and felt a growing sense of embarrassment. It was like trying to teach a fish how to swim – completely unnecessary and a little foolish.

Yesterday in Hyde Park, Ethan’s words to Woojin echoed in his mind. He remembered saying, “Young man, digital architecture isn’t as simple as you think.”

He had told Woojin, “If designing buildings was that easy, why would top architects around the world stick to straight lines and flat surfaces? Architecture is about finding beauty within real-world limits. There’s a big gap between dreams and reality. Just because you can make a 3D model on a computer doesn’t mean a building magically appears.”

When Woojin had explained his ideas, Ethan had dismissed them. He saw them as the wild dreams of a young, inexperienced person.

Ethan had been an architect since the 1970s. He had firm ideas about architecture. It wasn’t easy for him to change his mind just because of a young Asian man who looked barely out of his twenties.

Ethan had looked down on Woojin, both literally and figuratively. He had started their conversation already believing he was right and Woojin was wrong.

But today was different. This was EAC, a conference filled with the world’s best architects. EAC had enough authority to challenge even Ethan’s deeply held beliefs. So, Ethan sat in silence, chewing on his lower lip, and watched the stage. He couldn’t ignore the weight of this event.

Woojin began to speak, his voice calm and steady despite standing before so many famous architects. “When I first heard about Matteo’s project,” he said, “the word that immediately came to mind was passion. The passion of a client who loves football more than anything.”

He continued, “And the energy, the vibrant feeling you get when you think of football.”

Woojin was speaking in Korean, a language Ethan didn’t understand. But his words were instantly translated, echoing through the hall in English.

“To capture this energy,” Woojin explained, “I knew we needed a facade, the building’s exterior, with a dynamic silhouette, something truly alive. I used parametric design, a way of designing with rules and algorithms. By turning the feeling of energy into a design rule, I believed parametric design could express this key idea better than any other method.”

“Matteo expressed this passion and energy in sketches,” Woojin continued. “My role was to take those sketches and use algorithms and 3D design to bring them to life.”

As Woojin described Matteo’s design process, he naturally explained how parametric design works. Even architects who were new to parametric design could easily understand. He showed clear examples and explained how the method was used in each part of the building. It made perfect sense.

“Hmm… Now it seems even architects have to learn programming…”

“Great. I’m really glad I came to this year’s conference.”

“I was wondering how they could get such a silhouette from the design… So that’s the secret.”

Regardless of the architects’ individual skills, in 2011, parametric design was still a new concept for many. This made Woojin’s presentation very powerful. The fact that Woojin was a young, unknown Asian architect didn’t matter. He had the backing of Matteo’s reputation.

After explaining the design process of ‘Olas feroces,’ Woojin paused. He took a sip of water from a bottle on the stage. Then, he began again, “Some designers think of tools as just simple instruments.”

His words were thought-provoking from the start, and the audience leaned forward, intrigued.

“They believe that if you have an eye for form and understand architecture, tools are just replaceable things, even if you can’t use them well.” Woojin was talking about something many designers, especially those in high positions, had probably considered.

“But,” Woojin paused, looking at the audience, “have you ever thought about this? If we didn’t have tools at all, would the idea of design even exist? Would architecture be possible?”

Woojin’s unexpected question made the architects think. They wondered what he would say next. It seemed like a strange topic for someone who was supposed to talk about digital architecture and 3D design.

“Because we had tools, we could cut down trees,” Woojin explained. “And with those trees, we could make furniture and build houses.”

Surprisingly, this seemingly unrelated story was leading to a clear point.

“As tools became more refined, we could use a wider variety of materials. And as materials became more diverse, the possibilities of architecture grew.”

“We could imagine brick houses because we had built huts. And because we experienced brick houses, we could imagine houses made of steel and concrete.”

Woojin looked around at the audience, took a breath, and continued. “Today, the 3D design and parametric design I’ve shown you, using scripts and algorithms, will give us a stepping stone to move forward.”

Woojin pressed the laser pointer, and the screen changed. A design appeared – a pavilion for Parafield, designed by Woojin.

“We can imagine the path of light,” Woojin said, “but we can’t calculate it perfectly.”

He clicked the pointer again. Suddenly, white waves of light flowed across the design on the screen.

“And these patterns, gradually unfolding and twisting along the light’s path, we could never draw them by hand, detail by detail, in 3D space.”

The image Woojin showed was breathtaking. Architects’ eyes widened in surprise. It was as fresh and impressive as ‘Olas feroces,’ the building they had all admired.

“By learning a new tool – 3D design using algorithms,” Woojin continued, “I could try new kinds of architecture that were impossible before.”

This time, the screen showed not just lines and plans, but a complete, finished form.

“Through these new experiments,” Woojin said, “I discovered forms I had never seen before.”

And it was… beautiful.

“That young Asian man. Did they say he was a Korean architect? What’s his name?”

“It looks like it says Woojin Seo.”

“How can he do this level of design at his age?”

“He’s really amazing. I want to talk to him at the banquet after the conference.”

At first, Woojin might have seemed to be on stage only because he was connected to the famous Matteo. But with every word he spoke, Woojin stepped out of that shadow. He was proving that his talent and potential were too great to be hidden behind Matteo’s name. When Woojin first came on stage, the architects were interested in Matteo’s design process. Now, everyone was focused on Woojin himself.

“Maybe,” one architect murmured, “I’ve been too stuck in my old ways.”

“Me too,” another agreed. Watching Woojin, many in the audience felt a shiver of excitement. Bruno, who had seen this kind of impact before, smiled knowingly. ‘Amazing,’ he thought. ‘He’s captivated these proud, traditional EAC architects with his presentation.’

Bruno had seen Woojin’s potential from the first time he met him at SPDC, like a rough gem waiting to be polished. Now, Woojin had become a true architect and designer, shining in his own right.

“I want to share these amazing experiences with you all today,” Woojin announced.

Woojin’s teacher, Jo Unchan, who was just as passionate about this field, was also deeply impressed. Technically, Woojin might not have surpassed Unchan yet. But Unchan knew he couldn’t present this new field as captivatingly as Woojin. Woojin’s presentation was filled with a special passion and philosophy that even inspired Unchan.

“Incredible,” Unchan murmured.

While everyone was amazed, Woojin poured out everything he had prepared. Soon, the 30 minutes he was given had passed, but no one pointed it out. Only one person seemed different. Ethan, the elderly British architect sitting closest to the stage, just gave a wry smile. ‘Is it time for me to retire?’ he wondered. Ethan wasn’t closing his eyes or chewing his lip anymore. He looked deflated, but there was no anger in his expression now. He simply watched Woojin, who was still speaking passionately on stage.

“I am truly grateful to EAC for inviting me to this wonderful event,” Woojin said, concluding his presentation. He made eye contact with Ethan, and a confident smile spread across Woojin’s face. “I believe that the experiences I’ve shared with you today will become even more amazing and beautiful, and will come back to me as inspiration.”

Friday, November 25th, 2011. At the conference in London, England. Woojin Seo introduced himself to the world as ‘Designer Woojin Seo’ for the first time.