Read an article on newspaper today about a renowned Chinese artist. Being merely an amateur “artist”, I don’t know who he is and I’ve never even seen his work, but I admire his lifestyle – “…一直不講究吃穿，不過奢華揮霍的生活，一生精力都在繪畫創作上…”
That’s inline with how I want my home studio to be – no luxurious furnishings, just a little place where I can concentrate and be totally absorbed in some creative works…
My family had our flat completely furnished before moving in about 3 years ago. That is except this one room which I told my parents to leave empty for me to design and furnish. I was not even certain about moving back to HK then. The room was left untouched after all these years just because of my simple request. When I see the empty room now, I can feel how much my parents had wanted me to move back to live with them.
I plan to use the room as my office/studio, a place where I can concentrate and be totally absorbed in my work, and also a place where I can get my hands dirty to experiment different things. Of course, I also kept in mind of the need to reserve some space to entertain my little nephews and niece when they come up to visit every now and then.
Most of the time this week was spent reading a book on the critical history of modern architecture. Writings on architecture could be so difficult to understand sometimes, they really have a vocabulary of its own. Perhaps the most rewarding thing I got out of reading the book is a word I looked up – Nostalgia.
That word pops up in my mind whenever I yearn for my life in Canada – the free spirit, the closeness of friends and fellowship b/s, the autumn foliage, the snow-capped sceneries… I didn’t realize my strong nostalgia for my simple Canadian life until recently. It’s been about 2 months since I returned to HK.
It was a bit of a relief after the last lecture of the Bioclimatic Building Design course yesterday. At the same time, I was actually a bit saddened to see our professor go. It was only 2 weeks ago when he came from New Zealand to teach us. At first, I found him to be slow and I was becoming quite frustrated that I wasn’t learning much from the course. But as the lectures progressed and after reading his book, I found the professor to be very nice and full of wisdom.
I also realized that I may not see my classmates until the start of a new course next year in Jan., I’ll definitely be missing them too.
A place familiar yet distant; A place where I was born and a place where I stayed no longer than half my life. This is Hong Kong, a place where I’ve now unexpectedly adapted to.
I had lunch with a friend in Central, and afterward I took a leisurely stroll around the maze of skyscrapers. I went to where the ferry port used to be, the place where I used to take the school bus to boarding school every Sunday. Then I took the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui and found my way to the place where I used to have dim sum with my family before being taken to the school bus.
There were a handful of architecture I recognize, but more were those that I don’t. It’s interesting that I don’t seem to remember the structures as much as I remember the experiences associated with them. But would I still have such vivid and cherishable memories once those structures are gone?
It was a week of work & play. I’ve spent much of my days this week to do the pre-course reading for my upcoming course. But life would be too dry if it’s all work and no play, so I’ve spent 4 of the 5 weeknights playing badminton/basketball.
“Work hard, play hard!”
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make my room more environmental-friendly. After 3 or 4 visits to the Flowers’ Market, I have myself a row of 10 succulent plants next to my bed, just like what I used to have in my Toronto lair.
I enjoy seeing the little greenery next to my bed. Even my mom likes it – she came by my room a few times with a worried tone telling me that a couple of the plants may not survive the strong direct sunlight. She could be right, we’ll have to wait and see…
For my assignment on the lighting design course, I’ve spent a working week at my brother’s office to observe how people use lighting (both natural and electrical). I feel that natural daylight is often under-utilized. In the open office, fifteen 36W florescent tubes were used to provide ~300-400 lux illumination on the eight desks. In comparison, the sun constantly provides ~100,000 lux illumination on the Earth’s surface. Even with an overcast sky, it would still have ~40,000 lux! Can you see the potential?!
Thanks to the designer at the office to help me “stitch” together a few photos to include the entire panoramic window.
It must have been more than 10 years since I last celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with my family. Other than lighting up a few lanterns, it was just an ordinary evening. But it certainly felt special in a warm and peaceful kind of way…
Today is a celebratory day for China. I can see bits of the fireworks display from my balcony. I wonder how much money was burnt.
There were grand (lavish) celebrations in China for the entire day. But not too far away, there are many people who are still struggling to stay alive after the severe earthquakes that hit their countries. I see the smiles of the Chinese Leaders on TV, and then I imagined the weary faces of the earthquakes survivors. Such a distasteful contrast…
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