I think I know Wang Shu and his work well. A Pritzker prize winner who source local craftsmanship and material and manipulate them in a modern way. But after a trip to Hangzhou and Suzhou, I realise that I don’t actually fully understand his work. Before modelling in the computer, Wang Shu would finalise every detail in sketch format. He would think about how one opens a door, things that would occur in the space, how one turns his body to look at the mountain in the distance, how one looks up, how one look down. He would relate his methodology to the methodology of a farmer who thinks through his hands and close contact with the physical material. He also refers himself as a philosopher and a Buddhist apart from an architect. He drew inspiration from traditional Chinese landscape painting and Chinese garden. In traditional Chinese architecture, nature should be the focus and architecture is just a small portion of it. In Western thinking, building and landscape are separate and usuall...
This weekend, an old friend of mine invited me to visit the construction site of her future home in Woollahra and take some photos. She is a material supplier and she want to use her brick and tile for her future home. She has engaged with an interior designer to make sure they are delivered in a thoughtful way. When I was in her site, there are several moments that strike me the most. The junction between the skylight and the brick wall, I was amazed of how it was executed as perfect clean lines and how the light dances upon the brick wall, slowly revealing its textures. The perception of the depth of space, almost reminds one of Mies Van Der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion. Openings in brick wall frames the space, adding extra layers to the eye, the space is perceived to move forward and backward at the same time. The bespoke feature ceiling in an inverted arch form, the kind of organic gesture usually employed in public space making. It is very interesting to see ...