Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 167

“How on earth did you do this?”

Bruno’s first question was one Woojin had expected.

“Haha, I see this is also Bruno’s first time really seeing parametric design.”

“Parametric… Design?”

“It’s one of the techniques used in digital architecture. Haven’t you heard of it?”

“I think I have. Parametric design…”

In 2011, using computer programs in building design was new, even outside of this country.

Some European architects were already trying out these methods. It’s not that Bruno had never heard of parametric design before Woojin showed it.

However, this design method wasn’t common yet, so it didn’t immediately come to mind.

After remembering, Bruno looked at Woojin, surprised again.

“I’ve heard about design programs that use coding… Are you saying you know how to use them, Woojin?”

Bruno, despite being world-renowned, was almost sixty.

He was open-minded, but design tools using visual scripts were still hard for him to use.

Many designers Bruno’s age could not even use simple 3D design programs, and visual scripts were even harder.

“I had the chance to learn it. It’s a tool with so many possibilities.”

As Woojin explained the design, Bruno was amazed.

“Do you remember the first sketch I showed you?”

“Yes, I have it here.”

Bruno put the sketch on the desk, and Woojin pointed to it. “Like I said before, this sketch shows how the light flows.”

Bruno waited quietly.

“If you look closely, the diamond panels in my design disappear where the light passes through.”

Woojin pointed to a thick line on the sketch, then used a laser pointer to show the design on the screen.

He drew a line on the screen. “Here, the panels get smaller and then disappear.”

“Oho.”

“The panels disappear where the light passes through, creating space.”

“Now that you mention it, I see.”

“So, the movement of these panels is based on the flow of light that Bruno designed.”

After Woojin finished, Bruno looked back and forth between the sketch and the screen.

Jayden and Soyeon also looked at the sketch and the screen.

After five minutes of silence, everyone nodded except Woojin.

Bruno spoke first. “Wonderful, Woojin.”

“Haha, thank you.”

“So, is this the final design?”

Woojin shook his head. “Not yet. I wanted to show you the design idea and overall feel. I’ll keep working on it for another month.”

“Indeed…”

Bruno kept looking at the screen. “The diamond shape of the panels matches the panels I used in the glass ceiling, right?”

Woojin answered, “That’s part of it, but it’s also like why you used the diamond pattern.”

“You’re showing how the light scatters.”

“Exactly.”

The two designers shared their thoughts.

Woojin’s pavilion design was good, but it could be better. They talked about blending it with the space and making it more dramatic.

Woojin opened the design file on his laptop and changed the design to show Bruno different models.

Bruno was even more impressed. “Oh, this tool is amazing.”

“Haha, right? Once you have a good program like this, you can easily make different designs with the same idea.”

“Great!”

The meeting became a design conference and lasted over an hour. Jayden and Soyeon shared their opinions, which helped improve the design.

“Well, let’s stop here for today,” Bruno said.

Woojin nodded. “This was really helpful, Bruno. You pointed out things I didn’t think of.”

“I’m glad it helped.”

Bruno looked at the design until the end, looking satisfied.

He was excited to see the pavilion at the next meeting.

But Bruno had a concern. “But, Woojin,” he said.

“Yes?”

“I like the design, but I’m worried about how we can build this complex design in real life.”

Bruno was right to worry. It was hard to imagine how to build such a complex design.

But Woojin smiled. “Don’t worry. We used computer programs to design it, and I can create a program to make blueprints for the panels.”

“Ooh…!”

Bruno didn’t fully understand, but he nodded. He thought that if the program could make different designs, it could also create blueprints.

This method was called Digital Fabrication, which meant using computers to plan how to build things.

Woojin packed up his laptop and stood up. He had come after class and talked for hours, and he was hungry.

“Bruno, would you like to have dinner together?”

Bruno smiled and nodded. “Of course, I’d love to.”

Time passed quickly. May became June. Half of June was already gone.

Woojin was very busy. He worked on the pavilion design and researched how to build it. He also prepared to buy Sungjin Construction.

Woojin couldn’t do it alone. Seokhyun helped with the design programs, and Jin-tae and the team helped with buying the company.

On Friday, June 17th, Woojin finally bought Sungjin Construction.

“You’ve worked hard, CEO,” someone said.

“Team Leader Jo worked the hardest.”

“Haha, I just moved the money as you and Director Jin-tae said.”

“Don’t be modest. We needed an expert like you.”

Jo Seok-jun, the head of the management team, was someone Woojin had hired last year. He had worked at a large company and Woojin hired him with a high salary.

Woojin had hired him to help buy Sungjin Construction.

He also thought he needed Jo to help the company grow.

“Hehe, if people hear we bought Sungjin Construction for less than 5 billion won, they won’t believe it,” Jo said.

“It was possible because of the situation. And we didn’t buy everything, did we?” Woojin replied.

“It’s normal to drop the useless parts when buying a company.”

“Now we need to make sure it goes well,” Woojin said.

“We need to collect the payments that Sungjin is owed,” Jo said.

“Please take care of it, Team Leader Jo.”

“Thanks to you, CEO, this was a fun experience. Haha.”

After buying the company, WJ Studio had about 2 billion won left. If you include the money on the books, it’s almost 4 billion, but after paying for materials and labor, it wasn’t all extra money.

‘If we sell the building that Sungjin used as its headquarters, we’ll get about 1 billion more. If we add the payments that come in next month, I can see the whole picture.’

Woojin checked the financial files and smiled. Now that he had bought the construction company, it was time to start his project.

“Team Leader Jo,” Woojin said.

“Yes, CEO.”

“Please look for some good land in Seongsu-dong this week.”

“Land… as in?”

Woojin smiled. “Now that our family has grown, we need a bigger house, don’t you think?”

“……!”

“The employees working in the Sungjin building are now our family, so we should all be together.”

Jo understood. “How much land should I look for?” he asked.

Woojin had already thought about it. “About 150 pyeong of land should be fine,” he said. (About 500 square meters, or 5400 square feet)

“Yes, CEO.”

“It must be a place where we can build more than 10 floors.”

“I will look into it that way.”