under the bridge

quite different from when you were walking under a railway bridge in say, London, it doesn't smell of ammonia... have to readjust my attitude towards Berlin completely.

here is the sidewalk right below the U-bahn train to the Savignyplatz station. a handful of small shops, cafe, and restaurants lined the side streets and tucked inside nicely underneath the bridge.

Ku-Damm (Kufurstendamm) !

where do i begin? the flight took altogether 14 hours to reach Berlin, and by the time we checked into the hotel, it's still in the morning. so after dumping the bags, went out immediately to grab some food and have a quick tour around the area.

Kufurstendamm is the main street in the area and apparently it housed some of the most fashionable stores and retails outlets in Berlin.
yes...nice cars parked on the sidewalks and even saw a Ferrari Enzo speeding past! too fast to take a photo!

was told by a friend before the trip that Berlin is a city rich in art & culture, but the streets sometimes tend to be a bit dirt filled, just like many other major cities... sorry, this wasn't my impression at all, the city was very neat and tidy, not a single piece of litter was in sight (well, not quite true, there's a piece of litter just captured by the photo above, but that's all, really.) was it because of the district i was in? or was it because that Germany was the host to the biggest event on Earth - the WORLDCUP 2006? many questions crossed my mind...

my image of Berlin before the trip was somewhat different: torn walls, littered streets, Neo-Nazis demonstrating, military uniform, barbed wires, remnants of the cold war, grey colour everywhere.... wake up!!! most of those images were of the 80s, this is the 21 st Century!!!

pavements were wide, the trees lined up both sides of Ku-Damm, and people sitting out on those fashionable sidewalk cafe, sipping down iced-coffee with scoop of chocolate ice cream, or downing 0.5l of Berliner Pilsner while bicyles were drifting past under the shaded trees...

taking a break

we took a flight from Hong Kong to Berlin via Paris on the 16th June 2006. for some rest & relaxation, the city, the architecture, and YES! the WorldCup 2006!!!!

a shot i took on the morning flight departing from Charles de Gaulle airport.

a serene landscape filled with what looks like fluffy cotton.
what was on the mind of the person who took the first flight, escaping that 9.8m/s2 pull from earth, shooting above the clouds, and seeing the unending azure land for the first time...

Gundam - the war continues...

RX-178 Gundam Mk. II in the Z-Gundam series

"Amuro, ikimasu!"
the sound of such would undoubtedly bring back familiar scenes of Gundam with Amuro Ray, seated inside Mobile Suit Gundam, code named RX-78, prepared to be sent into battle in the epic war between the Earth Federation and the Zeon Repulic.

after more than 25 years, when you step inside a hobby shops today, you will see some of the most popular merchandise are still, yes, Gundam! or designs from its sequels, side stories, spin offs...etc

personally, i like the story as well as the mecha design very much, though i still fail to understand why these mobile suits need to have 5 fingers on each hand? what i found worth exploring also is how can a series developed almost over 3 decades ago can still conjure up such magic? and why is there no replacement all these years? we saw the Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Macross, and each were good in their respect, but never quite reach the same status as the Gundam fever...

what would Bandai do without Gundam?


MSZ-006 Z-Gundam, 1st fully transformable Gundam first appeared in the Z-Gundam series.

the gate

light is something that is all around us, yet to capture it is something easier said than done. we see lines radiating from the source of light, yet these lines are visible only through the translation of the lens of a camera.

so, do these lines really exist?

picture taken from the lens of Motorola A1200 2Megapixel PDA phone at the former Central Police Station.

Happy Valley - 02

As local people would know, Happy Valley is largely a residential area, tucked away from the noise and people of densely populated retail district like Causeway Bay. Geographically, it is a valley, flanked on three sides with hills and plenty of greens.
why it was named as "Happy" Valley, am still trying to dig it out, but legend has it that when the British first took over the island, British soldiers tried to camp at this valley, which used to be a marsh land, and little did they know then that a lot of toxic gas was emitted from the swamps, huge casualties! eventually, the marshland was cleared and settlements were built and in order to wipe off the memory of the incidience, the place was named as "Happy Valley".
nowadays, the swamps were all gone, and thks to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Happy Valley is perhaps the only district on this island that has a vast open space with sports fields, garden, jogging trails, occupying the area circumscribed by the horse racing tracks.
plenty of nice restaturants too, and the recently opened Jockey, a Pub close to the tram station is a nice, comfortable place where you can have your brunch leisurely, enjoying over a pint, and lazily watching people walking by...

life in a Universe

it was a mid summer night, on a rare occasion that i had the opportunity to spend sometime with my grandfather one evening.
"how big is the universe?" i asked.
didn't get a response for a long time, then he finally said. "...that's a difficult question..." seems like that was also the first time that a question of this kind has crossed his minds.

many years passed, and learned that there's the discovery of atom, then electron, neutrons, followed by quarks and leptons, and they even say that there is a possibility of substructure within these tiny particles.

if we can't determine how small the world can reach, how could we determine how big the universe is...

my father, when i was still in my teens, has once asked me a seemingly innocent question, " if i give you a piece of paper, and cut it in half, then pick up one half and repeat the same steps, how small will that piece of paper eventually become?"

i still have no answer to that question, and probably never will. but little did i know then that this question has opened my mind in how to see things...

reflection - organic

it has been raining for days, and was unable to get out to take any photos. so when you can't look afar, you have to look close.
a rather interesting object, a piece of polished metal, randomly dented. though apparently static and stable, it never appears the same twice because it is simply reflecting what's relative to it.

perhaps anything with a reflective surface has such quality, but if 2 buildings were built according to the same plan, and both have reflective surfaces, one can still say they are identical twins despite reflecting different environment.

but for a solid piece of metal like this, would it be the same?

the duality intrigues, a solid metal, yet so liquid it appears.

a question of perception...

Happy Valley - 01

spoke to the structural engineer responsible for the projects at the centre of the photograph (the "HighCliff" and "Summit"), and this is one example which overseas engineers came to Hong Kong to study as a precedent. the technical difficulties it encoutered during site formation and the construction of the foundation works were good case study.

on the other hand, how it actually dwarfed the houses and building in front, that' s something else worth discussing. should the government impose stricter control on the development of buildings to control the compatibility of built forms? or should it allow the developer/ architect to develop the piece of land to its full potential in the spirit of free economy, capitalist state?

another point worth noting is that these 2 towers are actually residential buildings with externally cladded curtain wall system, meaning the residents are not expected to open the windows normally. due to its high altitude, since the moisture and the gust will be difficult to control without proper measures, that implies that the space will be air-conditioned 24 hrs a day and 7 days a week. an essentially energy intensive environment.

the wind is quite strong at such location, and the air is supposed to be cleaner and fresher, shouldn't we be looking into opportunity to harness the wind power for such developments?

Nature's design

unless the weather changes drastically, the chance that Hong Kong will have snow is still very remote. snow we might not have, but have something else that's equally pleasing. the ripening of the cotton flowers - 木棉花（Bonbax ceiba）.
the whole sky is filled with these soft, white, fluffy, light weight floaters, each carrying a seed to propagate its presence.
the design is simple, yet very effective. when looking at our own complicated design on machines, tools...etc. can't help but wonder the beauty in nature's own design.

the pull of Gravity

we have seen dozen of films and read tons of books on journey to the outer space. yet, other than sci-fi movies and japanese animation, we are still firmly on the ground, looking up to the sky occasionally and pondering the depth of the universe.
since childhood, has been dreaming about being on board of an intergalatic cruiser in search of alien civiliaztion or finding new hope for the dying earth.

the alien civilization is still very elusive, yet there are signs that our earth is dying...we thought our advancement in technology has made us the master of the planet, which in contrary, is only acting as the executioner of our own death. always believe the temporal peaceful times and stable economy is our last chance in preparing ourselves before reaching that inevitable critical threshold.

the preparation - bamboo works

design works normally take place at the office, and when hundreds of drawings are produced after endless nights, they will then be given to the contractor for materializing what's on paper.

easy task? never!

for a finished product, tons of effort from all parties involved were put into the project. formworks, frames, scaffoldings, moulds...etc. each of them are actually a well respected craft in itself, without such, the final product will never see the light.

a tribute to the bamboo scaffolding, which is perhaps still one of the most amazing trade in the city!

MAM - Macau Musuem of Art - 02

exhibition: Depth of Shadow
Sculptures by Korean Artist Lee, Yong Deok

now until 30th July 2006.

some quite stunning installations especially the work "Salute & Farewell". sorry, don't want to spoil the surprise, you simply have to be there and see it, you will become part of the work!

Macau Blue - 01

During our recent trip to Macau, saw that there was a photographic exhibition at the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau Building and paid a visit. The exhibition itself was good but what was more remarkable was the building itself. Walls to the entrance hall are tiled with the unmistakable blue and white Portugese tiles. only had time to browse around quickly that day, the metal arch above the archway was particularly interesting and worth to pay a further visit in the future.
the exposed fluorescent tubes, however, was definitely a mismatch, was expecting to see wall lights or hanging pendants.
Apparently they have a public library on the 1/F. expecting to see a fine example of traditional Portugese Interior, have to find out in our next visit.

Grosvenor Place, Repulse Bay

some of the best beaches in Hong Kong are located on the south side of the island, the Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay, South Bay, Stanley Bay...etc. and just when you think you can get away from the noise and crowd from the city, there you are! BANG! BANG! BANG! luxurious highrises towering over the beaches. the external facade for this building was actually not bad, and the developer is just doing what he is allowed to do within the law, i.e. maximize the development potential. but is the local governement really running out of ideas of where to get their resources and need to start invading the rural skyline.

am not against the development of the rural area if we really need extra housing. but the dilema is do you want a lower income tax, in the expense of the country side, or as the current situation stands, a higher income tax, but less invasion into the rural area. isn't there any other options available?

The Cliff - South Bay

steep cliff...shifting clouds, what lies beyond the top?

taken at South Bay, somewhere...

Central Police Station, Hong Kong

one of most important historical building has been declared monument, the former Central Police Station at Hollywood road.
it was the intention of the Government to convert such into a tourist spot with the proceedings help to upkeep the maintainence of this cluster of building.
if overly done, can become a very tacky place...
delicate, be extremely delicate...
whoever is going to operate this premises, why not use this chance to organize an international architecture design competition, thru the UIA or a reputable institute, use this chance to offer something the local can be proud of.

MAM - Macau Musuem of Art - 01

If there is anything being a Hongkonger would be ashamed of when you are in Macau, other than losing all your money at the casino and cover your private parts with nothing more than a piece of IOU, it's when you stepped into the Muse de Arte de Macau.

undoubtedly a piece of world class architecture, and we are trying to find the background of the architect responsible for the design.

there are spaces which you want to explore and linger, hoping to discover new things and for illumination. and there are places you want to finish your business and leave as quick as possible. the MAM is an example of the former while the toilet and the Hong Kong Museum of Art is the classic example of the latter.

street scenes at Macau - 02

though only an hour away from Hong Kong, have only been to Macau a few times in my life. and for twice, we stayed in hotel in Taipa, 5 years apart, but scenes all changed especially at the waterfront! luckily, the area near Taipa village was largely preserved and remains a pleasant place to stroll along.

street scenes at Macau - 01

despite the opening of new casinos one after another, there remains area where one could still find the nostalgic corners of what was once the Portugese colony.

rua dos bem casados, name of the street, roughly translated as: the street of the well-married. didn't even notice the street name while taking the photo, just thought it was a good composition then.

no doubt there were romantic stories buried in the neighbourhood.