Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 10

The pamphlet was divided into two main parts.

Part A explained what the ‘Night of Design’ event was about and when it would happen. It also explained how they would choose students for scholarships.

Part B listed the different competition themes for each department.

As the freshmen read through Part A, they were a little surprised.

The competition’s format was a bit different from what they expected.

“I’m sure it was an individual competition until last year…,”

“So, does that mean the five of us are one team?”

Hyejin nodded, remembering what she had told Woojin on the subway earlier that day about the individual competition format.

Until last year, the Night of Design competition was an individual event where each freshman submitted a single design piece.

The top three were chosen, and scholarships were given based on their ranking.

However, the pamphlet said that this year’s format was completely different.

“Only one team is chosen from each department, and everyone on that team gets a half-tuition scholarship…,”

“The total scholarship money is a little more than before.”

“But why did they change the format like this?”

“I don’t know.”

The freshmen, who had just started university, didn’t know the reason, but there was definitely a reason for the change.

The reason was written in small letters at the bottom of Part A.

“[The winning design piece of the 2010 Night of Design will be shown at the graduation show that year.]”

At first, it might not seem like showing the winning design piece at the graduation show has anything to do with the change in how the awards are given.

But the reason was simpler than they thought.

It was all about making the design pieces better.

Even though they were students at the best design university in Korea, they were still freshmen.

A design piece made by a single freshman in one night was probably not very good.

K University’s graduation show was a big design event. Many important people from the design industry and famous designers came to see it. It happened every year and was very important for K University.

They changed to teams to make the design pieces at the ‘Night of Design’ a little better.

But the real reason wasn’t the most important thing for the freshmen right now.

The most important thing was the ‘rules’ of the competition.

Only one thing was the same as last year’s competition.

The design piece had to be finished by 10 a.m. the next day.

“We’re not going to get any sleep tonight.”

“Ugh…”

But even though they were complaining, their eyes shone with excitement, reflecting the bright fluorescent lights of the classroom.

They were all very motivated.

After reading Part A carefully, the five of them spread out Part B, which had the competition theme, on the floor.

The theme of the 2010 Night of Design for the Department of Spatial Design was:

[We call the three most important things in life clothing, food, and shelter.]

[So, all architecture starts with the home.]

[And today, before you start your university life, you will design your first space.]

[It makes sense that you would start by designing a home.]

The words sounded important, but the theme was just about designing a place to live.

So far, the theme was general, like the themes in the past.

But the next part was new this year.

It was the ‘conditions.’

[Condition 1: The client is a man in his 40s. He has a wife who is the same age and a daughter who just started middle school.]

[Condition 2: The client is a novelist, and his wife is a fashion designer.]

[Condition 3: The client loves cars, his wife loves movies, and his daughter loves dogs.]

[Condition 4: The land is 40 pyeong, which is about 132 square meters. The building can have up to 5 floors and be 12 meters tall. (Map of the land on page 3)]

[Condition 5: The client has enough money but doesn’t want to waste it.]

The competition themes always had some conditions.

But this was the first time the conditions were so specific, which made the freshmen a little nervous.

The students in Room 202 felt the same way.

“Wow, Jihoon didn’t tell me about this…”

“We have to follow these conditions as much as we can, right…?”

“And the design has to be good, too.”

The students were thinking hard.

Before seeing the conditions, they would have only thought about designing a cool and pretty house.

Freshmen who just finished high school usually only think about building a cool and pretty house when they think about architectural design.

But Woojin thought a little differently from the other freshmen.

‘The land is 40 pyeong, and the number of floors and height are limited… That’s more than enough space for a family of three.’

Woojin, who had worked in the field for over 20 years, felt better with these conditions.

All the buildings he had designed in his previous life started with what the client needed and ended with making them happy.

Woojin knew what to think about first when designing a building.

“Okay, everyone has read it, right?”

Woojin’s voice broke the silence, and the other four looked at him.

“As you know, we don’t have much time. We have even less time if we don’t sleep.”

The students quickly checked the time.

They had about 16 hours until the design piece was due.

Everyone knew that it wasn’t enough time to make a good model.

They had all made models hundreds of times to prepare for the university entrance exam.

Woojin continued.

“So, we need to decide everything in two hours. We need to start the meeting now.”

The students agreed with Woojin and nodded seriously.

Even Hyejin, who was usually so playful and joking around, didn’t say a word. It was clear they were all now very motivated.

Now that the atmosphere was set, Woojin got to the main point.

“Has anyone here made an architectural model before?”

They had all made many models, but architectural models were different.

The models they made for their university entrance exams were models that showed abstract beauty.

The architectural models they had to make now were models of real buildings.

When no one answered, Woojin spoke again.

“I worked part-time at the construction site office a few times during the vacation, you know?”

The design room buzzed with the excited chatter of students. Sunbin, his eyes shining with curiosity, leaned closer to Woojin. “Woojin,” he asked, “have you ever made an architectural model before?” Hyejin, sitting next to Sunbin, chimed in, “Why else would he bring it up now?” Woojin smiled slightly and nodded. “That’s right.”

Actually, Woojin had not made many models at his work. But that didn’t matter. He needed a reason to lead this project.

“I have an idea for how we can start,” Woojin said. “Not for the design itself, but for how we work together. I can help organize things.” The other new students in Room 202 nodded quickly.

They thought it was better to follow Woojin than to just wander around without a plan.

And with that, the design meeting for Room 202 started.

Ryu Sunbin’s father was an architect. Not just a designer, but the owner of a big construction company. Sunbin had always looked up to his father. He wanted to be an architect too. Actually, he wanted to be even better than his father. He dreamed of designing amazing buildings, like the famous architects he admired from other countries. ‘I’ll design buildings that everyone will know, buildings that will be landmarks,’ he thought.

‘I’m going to be a famous architect, designing amazing buildings!’ Sunbin dreamed. But his father knew how hard the construction business was. He wanted Sunbin to choose an easier job.

His dream was very hard to reach in Korea, almost impossible. But Sunbin was stubborn.

Finally, he got into the Design Department at K University, the best architecture school in Korea. ‘I did it!’ Sunbin thought. He was at the top of his class and even got a scholarship. His father finally accepted his dream.

His father said, “Okay, you got your wish. Now work hard. If you still love it when you graduate, I’ll send you to study overseas.” Sunbin was quiet and didn’t show his feelings much. But he was very proud to be the best student starting in his year.

Any twenty-year-old would be proud of what he had done. ‘I’ll graduate at the top and go to the AA School,’ he thought. The AA School was the most famous architecture school in England.

Bartlett was another top school, just as famous as the AA School. But Sunbin wanted to go to the AA School more. It wasn’t a complicated reason. His favorite architects, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas, had studied there.

‘I can do it,’ Sunbin thought. He was confident. K University’s Design Department was the best school in Korea. He had gotten in at the top, after all.

Sunbin’s confidence had been sky-high. He felt like he could achieve anything. But then, something started to change his mind.

“So, as you can see from the conditions…” Woojin pointed to the project brief, “…the maximum we can build is 5 floors. But really, we shouldn’t go over 4.” Sunbin frowned slightly. “Why?” he asked.

“If we build 5 floors, the ceilings will be too low,” Woojin explained. “We can’t go higher than 12 meters in total.”

“So, each floor would have to be 3 meters?” Sunbin calculated quickly in his head.

“Yes. And even that’s not very tall, to be honest,” Woojin said, shaking his head a little.

Sunbin’s eyebrows went up. “Really?”

“Think about it,” Woojin continued. “This is supposed to be a luxury house for just three families. We want high ceilings, over 3 meters, to make it feel grand.”

“Ah, I see,” Sunbin said, starting to understand.

Sunbin had known about the Design Night for a while. He had been looking forward to it, hoping to impress everyone. Even when Woojin took charge, Sunbin still believed he would be the star.

Sunbin thought, ‘Once we really start designing, everyone will see how good I am.’ But as the meeting went on, he started to feel uneasy.

‘What’s going on with Woojin?’ Sunbin wondered. Woojin was only two years older, and also a freshman. But as Sunbin watched him, he saw something he hadn’t expected. Woojin seemed like the ‘architectural designer’ Sunbin had always pictured in his mind.

“Also,” Woojin continued, “for a house with just one family, too many floors can be annoying. And the land is too small for an elevator.” Sunbin had thought of Woojin as just a nice older student, friendly and easy-going. But now, as Woojin confidently led the meeting, Sunbin started to feel… smaller.

“So, I think 3 floors would be best,” Woojin suggested. “We can use the bottom half of the first floor as a pilotis. A family of three will have plenty of space on the second and third floors.” Another student added, “If we put parking in the pilotis, that would be great for someone who loves cars!”

As Woojin sketched on the drawing paper, ideas seemed to come to life. Realistic drawings appeared quickly under his pen. The team members nodded, excited, and crowded around Woojin, eager to share their ideas.

Sunbin, even he, got caught up in the excitement. “Woojin,” he said, “what if we made a rooftop terrace?”

“That’s a great idea!” Woojin replied, his eyes lighting up. Another student pointed to a map. “Look, there’s a wide river to the southwest. If we build a terrace facing that way…”

“Perfect!” Woojin exclaimed. “We’ll have an amazing river view!”

Two hours flew by. When the design meeting ended, one student exclaimed, “Wow! Woojin, if we build it like this, it will be amazing!” Another said, “If we do this well, will we get a scholarship?” Someone else joked, “Sunbin already has one!” Another student laughed, “Don’t worry, they’ll find a way to give it to us!”

The team members were buzzing with energy, their excitement almost jumping out of them. Sunbin watched Woojin. He felt a mix of things: surprise, admiration, and something else he couldn’t quite name.

‘I need to watch Woojin carefully,’ Sunbin thought. ‘No, wait. I still need to be the best student…’ Sunbin’s feelings were very different now than at the start of Design Night.

But Sunbin had no idea what was coming next. The concept meeting was finished. The real drawing work was about to begin. Suddenly, Woojin stopped. His eyes went wide, like he’d seen a ghost. Golden Print.