The Red House in Xiemen

 
The reason why I want to emphasise Taipei's bid to become the next World Design Capital ( after Cape Town in 2014) is because their effort can be seen and felt while I was in Taipei. They even dedicated a website for this, so they are quite determined [...]

The new and cool Dùa hotel, designed by Koan Design
 
I have been to Taipei many times over the years but I never been to Kaohsiung before, so I was quite looking forward to visiting this city. Being the second largest city in Taiwan, this city has been transformed quite dramatically in recent [...]

 
Last weekend, I found out about a handicraft fair at the multi-disciplinary art centre, JCCAC ( Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre) in Shek Kip Mei and decided to pay a visit. I came here with a friend when it first opened in 2008 and it was almost empty with very few working studios [...]

 
I only found out about the West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre when it was about to wrap up, so I dragged my local graphic design friend ( who didn't even know about this) to visit the site on its last day.
Like I mentioned in my previous blog entry, Hong Kongers are now [...]

 
I love wandering and exploring streets of cities beyond the tourist attractions. I think you can learn and understand more about the city from the streets where local people live, eat or work. Kyoto's cityscape is especially interesting because it has numerous ancient temples and shrines, yet it is also [...]

King's College, The Maughan Library
 
I have always looked forward to the annual Open house weekend in London, last year, I managed to book and visit some amazing places like the Lancaster House, Commonwealth Institute ( before the renovation to turn it into the new Design Museum) and the Oak room at the [...]

Finlandia Hall (1967-71) and the interior of Academic bookshop (1966-1969)

 
I still remember how impressed I was after seeing 'Alvar Aalto: Through the Eyes of Shigeru Ban' exhibition at the Barbican back in 2007, as I am a fan of both architects. Hence I couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Alvar Aalto's studio [...]

A showcase for British horticulture
 
The park
One of attractions of London is that it is a huge cosmopolitan city with lots of greenery. There are parks and squares in every neighbourhood, which makes this city a livable city despite the traffic and dense housing.
I was particularly curious when I heard that wild flowers [...]

A Buddha head sculpture by Zhang Huan on the rooftop
 
The new non-profit Asia Society Hong Kong Centre opened in February this year on a hill above several 5-star hotels and a large shopping mall in Admiralty. Located at the former Explosives Magazine Compound built by the British Army in the mid-19th century [...]

Visiting the exhibition, 'Building the revolution: Soviet art and architecture 1915-1935' at the Royal Academy of Art turned out to be quite an emotional experience especially when I saw photographs of where I used to live in Moscow. It brought back many memories but not all good ones.
Due to certain circumstances, I [...]