Bedtime Architectural Stories

Fun Facts about Hong Kong Maid parties, thousands of domestic helpers gather on Sunday to eat, dance and exchange goods on the street  Buses are double storey with nice city views  M+ Museum from Herzog & de Meuron is worth to visit, the facade is composed of dark green corrugated ceramic tiles, the inside has multiple voids that forms interesting overlapping geometries  Tai Kwun is another work by Herzog & de Meuron, it was once a prison for political prisoners, my friend made the joke that she would rather live in the prison cell because it has an ensuite and ample light through the windows, like a little studio. The new building is cladded with a cast aluminium facade unit system, responding to the existing granite wall in scale and proportions  It is really tricky to take photo in Hong Kong because of the lighting condition, you have to capture the light that creeps between the buildings, as Hong Kong is very dense, sometimes it is there sometimes it is g...

Fun Facts about Kyoto  Kyoto is my favourite city, it has that special vibe. You feels like you are travelling in different space and time, as everyone is wearing traditional Japanese dress (Kimono) and wonders around heritage temples. The US lecturer couple I met in Naoshima spent almost two months in Kyoto  Kyoto has that fine grain quality, it is composed of millions of laneways and Machiya (traditional Japanese house), quite special.   Kyoto contains most of the Japanese heritage architectures. Sometimes I feel Japanese heritage architecture is like a big piece of LEGO. They don’t use nails but rely on joint to do the work, the joints will snap on each other like LEGO.  Kimono dresses are super super tight. Me in Kimono as below  There are thousands of places to pray for good fortune in Kyoto, the famous one are Kiyomizu, Gion Shrine, Fushimi. Interestingly, you will get good fortune if you wash your hands using the water from the temple  Wear thic...

 Fun Facts about Naoshima  Nao means love, Naoshima can be interpreted as the island of Love. But it is almost like the island of Tadao Ando, because all of the iconic architectures on the island are designed by him. Like ChiChu Art Musume Museum, Benesse Art Museum, it is a pity that you cannot take photos inside. It also exhibit James Turrell’s work.  Benesse Art Musuem allow you to take photo, you can see the concrete textures, lines and curves, the unfolding of scenes, space and perspectives  The hotel I stayed is called My Lodge, it has beautiful views, you can wake up by the sea. You can rent their bike  to travel around the island, or you can take the shuttle bus   It is also worth to visit Teshima Art Musuem, designed by SANNA, there are two oculus, one frames the frost and the other frames the sky, the ground is slightly sloped so you can see and feel the water droplet running on the ground. It is a pity that you cannot take photos there as we...

Fun Facts about Tokyo  Tokyo people are grumpy, very fast paced.  There are millions of exits in the subway, from number 1 to 10, from number 1A to 1G  Even seven eleven food are super nice, you can warm it up in store Better use translation app, they don’t speak English, on the first day in Tokyo, I was lost and I have to stay in a random hotel on the way because the Taxi driver doesn’t recognise English address  Omote sando is a busy commercial street and the buildings there are all designed by famous architects. SANNA, Sou Fujimoto, Taodao Ando, MVRDV,   I like the DIOR by SANNA and Stella McCartney by ED REEVE in particular  Have a book an Omakase in Tokyo, super delicious 

Fun Facts about Osaka    Best pace to experience authentic Japanese Omelette and Takoyaki. There are a lot restaurant encourages you to do the cooking yourself, they will guide you, but for me it is a terrible attempt    If you bring your passport, you can have a 10% tax free discount, it applies to everything, goods, cosmetics, clothes Osaka is the city that relates to animations the most, probably because of the neon lights and signs and all the colours, no matter where you take the photo, it looks like animation  Octopus is really special in Osaka because Takoyaki was invented in Osaka