new york vignettes

New York was amazing. I was there for a mighty 4.5 weeks and got back about 2 weeks ago. How do I begin to capture it all? I can't. But a few images here will give you an idea and then the rest is on Instagram (well, a fair few anyway).

I was in New York for 3 main reasons: to write a significant chunk of my PhD thesis, to see a lot of art, and to visit friends. This was my little apartment in the Lower East Side rented through airbnb. It was perfect in every sense. I spent every morning in that room on the right working on my thesis. It was bathed in eastern light and had a fabulous view of the Williamsburg Bridge. A perfect place for writing.

Most mornings I went for either a run or a walk. Early on, the Williamsburg Bridge became a favourite to run over. Such amazing views! Later in my trip I ran in the East Village around Tompkins Square Park and along the East River park. Runners' heaven that! I also cycled my heart out as my apartment came with a bike. Cycling in Manhattan is wild and crazy and totally recommended! NYC launched its new bike share program while I was there. So now there are funky blue rental bikes everywhere.

For me NY is about so much, the architecture especially. 

And the art, of course!

NY Frieze was on. So much fun to catch a ferry down the East River to Randall's Island. And so much art!

Chelsea never disappoints on the art front. More gorgeous work! All art work seen here is attributed properly on my Instagram photos. Go there if you want to know more about these works.

 The world of bridges. DUMBO is one of the best places to hang out in Brooklyn.

The first heat wave of summer hit while I was there. We spent nights walking the streets waiting for the cool change to come. Not a bad thing to do given what there is to see in Manhattan.

The High Line captured my heart. Last time I was in NY in 2008 it wasn't yet open so it was so much fun to walk from 34th St all the way down to the 12th on this beautiful elevated public park. The landscaping is superb and the architecture is non-stop amazing the whole way.

I haven't mentioned the cocktails and the endless food and hanging out with friends. And ice cream on hot nights at the amazing Il Laboratorio on Ludlow in the Lower East Side. But you get the idea...

small wonders

This beautiful piece of design in Madrid is called Unlimited Space: the Ceramic House and is the work of architect Héctor Ruiz-Velázquez. What I love about it is how space is used in such a wise way. There is clever layering of rooms minimising the need to have a large footprint. This is a topic I feel very strongly about as our cities continue to sprawl and suck up the natural environment on their peripheries. I am passionate supporter of designing and building smaller and smarter.

More pics here at the ever inspiring Daily Icon.

small is wonderful

Anyone who has ever lived in a super tiny space (think Japan or Hong Kong) will appreciate this ingenious architectural idea. Gary Chang designed and built a way to reconfigure his teeny tiny Hong Kong apartment into 24 different layouts by simply moving a series of sliding walls. The pic above shows my favourite room version. A hammock room is such a wonderful idea, don't you think? You can see more pics of Gary's apartment (there are 9 in total) here and read the full story here. Though very small, I'm pretty certain Gary's main floor plan is bigger than my apartment in Kyoto was (which measured 3 metres x 2 metres in total). What I would have done to have been able to convert it into all these fabulous living spaces! If you watched World's Greenest Homes on ABC last night you may have seen Gary's apartment. I have a love/hate relationship with this program because 90% of the houses they showcase are enormous with massive footprints - not green at all! So seeing Gary's little apartment on this show was like a breath of (green) fresh air.

art deco beauty to go

Why is it that beautiful old buildings need to make way for more department stores and we call that progress?
I've just heard (via Ink & Spindle) about the impending demolition of the gorgeous art deco building, Lonsdale House in Melbourne. It needs to go because apparently the world needs another Myer department store. Can you believe this?

When friends and family visit they always tell me how much they love the way Melbourne preserves it's architectural history unlike other big cities like Sydney, which has been only too keen to tear down it's history and replace it with shiny new (read lacking in character) buildings. This demolition would be tragic in terms of preserving Melbourne's unique heritage.

There's an online petition where you can register your opposition to this crazy decision. And Melbourne walking tours which include this art deco beauty while it still stands.