Category Archives: Interior

Architecture, Design, Interior, Mongolia

Time Travel

 Kvosgol


In each and every ger, touches of the modern world are seeping through the rafters. One evening I would be watching a loud incomprehensible Russian card game lit by a single lightbulb. The next day lunchtime, I would be thanking a chain smoking old lady for tea, eyeing curiously the electronic boxes that powered her small flat screen monitor. Later that evening, I would be sitting warming my feet in the ger of a family of 3 in complete darkness, following the glowing blue screen of a mobile phone as the mother pushes in-between the wooden roof structure and the fabric top.


This gradual infiltration of modern conveniences in the countryside, as opposed to the bulldozing over with technology in many developing countries such as China, gives Mongolia a poetic charm. Whether this current lifestyle is as poetic to live as a daily reality is questionable. However, in the long run, perhaps this gradual change will allow for a more culturally rich modern society to emerge. Only time will tell.

China, Design, Interior, Lighting

Faked Fake

Macau


One incoherent overhyped show later, and we are shuffling once again through hordes of tourists back in what is supposedly a 5-star hotel. I guess these new mega-hotels provide everything that the new affluent Chinese tourist wants from a holiday. Free coaches to shuttle them around to shops to consume big brand names until they drop, and some kind of backdrop to pose for photos in front of. Is this China’s answer to Vegas or Disneyland? It seems to neither deliver the kitsch over-the-top fake promise of “living the dream” that Vegas does, nor does it create a complete Disney-like dream world of characters that sets a child’s imagination alive.  I cannot help but be reminded instead of packed shopping malls in Hong Kong at the weekend. It appears that the new Macau is full of promises, but not quite right.

 

Architecture, China, Design, Interior

Recycled Building

Shixing


Venturing through the side entrance of a run down traditional family ancestral hall building (祠堂), I realise that the crude drawings on the outside are not graffiti, but rather a hint to what can be discovered inside: a basic children’s classroom and playground. Amongst the crumbling walls and pillars, are metal climbing frames and plastic toy planes. On one side of my mind, I question how the community could allow such historical architectural elements fall into such disrepair, and wonder if it is taking away the building’s integrity by removing it’s original purpose. However, as I watch my uncle being followed by shy curious children, I realise that perhaps we are sometimes too quick to judge. Clearly there is not the money to restore the building, and in many ways the school is doing an equally important job in serving the community and keeping the building alive.


Of course it would be ideal if the building could be restored with the school integrated, but where would the money or time come from?

 

Furniture, Hong Kong, Interior, Product

Cornered

Central, Old Victoria Prison


Once a friend told me that he wanted to buy an old-style hospital bed for his home because they were charmingly minimal and practical. I thought he was mad. Why would you want to live with something from a place associated with illness and pain? Wandering through the disused cells of Victoria Prison, a charmingly minimal and practical corner table catches my eye. Now you may think I am mad. Why would I want to live with something from a place associated with confinement and punishment?

Outside the eery confined prison walls, this table could sit quite innocently with a vase of flowers perched atop in a simple domestic interior. Context is everything. As time passes, the table will gather memories and create a new story. All objects tell a story, but as with all good stories the plot develops and changes. Maybe my friend was not so mad after all.