Seungbum Ma · CLIENT: Design House
This trophy, designed for the 2024 Seoul Living Design Fair, draws inspiration from basic architectural elements such as columns, beams, and slabs, reinterpreted through contemporary materials and fabrication methods. Crafted in acrylic, it reflects the logic of traditional Korean joinery while exploring light, shadow, and material change. The form shifts with angle and illumination, at times glowing, reflecting, or casting colored shadows, combining structural clarity with sensory depth through precise assembly research.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This is the trophy design for the 2024 Seoul Living Design Fair. Inspired by fundamental architectural elements, such as beams, columns, and slabs, the design reinterprets traditional Korean joinery using acrylic. The trophy’s form responds to light and angle: at times glowing and casting stained-glass-like reflections, at others becoming a dark mirror or a silent, solid mass. Three versions were created—Special, Product, and Space Prizes—each rendered in RGB hues symbolizing light itself.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 103 mm x Depth 103 mm x Height 323 mm
- Tags
- architectural object, architectural trophy, trophy
- Production Technology
- This project also served as an experiment in translating architectural and furniture joinery techniques into a smaller scale. It involved a series of tests to determine tolerances that allow precise acrylic assembly without breakage, along with studies to identify the optimal colors and levels of transparency. The final outcome was achieved through extensive exploration of transparency, translucency, opacity, reflectivity, dyeing, tinting, and color mixing.
- Design Challenge
- Wood was fragile, while rigid paper allowed for easy assembly but presented issues with warping and finish. Aluminum lost its precision and deformed during cutting. While 3D printing offered structural stability, it was excluded due to its incompatibility with the interlocking design language.
Ultimately, acrylic was chosen for its ability to transmit and reflect light, casting colored shadows while glowing on its own. However, tests were required to determine the optimal tolerances for assembly without breakage, as well as to identify suitable colors and levels of transparency. - Project Duration
- The project started in January and finished in February 2024 in Seoul, and was exhibited in the Seoul Living Design Fair 2024 in March.
- Operation Flow
- Placed by a sunlit window, it takes on entirely different forms and impressions depending on the time, weather, and the viewer’s perspective.
- Research
- Under a tight timeline, it was necessary to explore multiple formal alternatives for the trophy while simultaneously studying the complex joinery details at a small scale using various materials.
- Inspiration
- This project explores the universal language of architecture to evoke new experiences and meanings. Fundamental elements, such as beams, columns, walls, and floors, are reconfigured with contemporary materials to defamiliarize the everyday and invite renewed reflection. By reinterpreting traditional joinery through modern techniques, the work honors history while opening paths toward the future.
- Image Credits
- All photos by Yoon Park.
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