新年快樂！恭喜發財！
Happy Chinese New Year from Connecting Four!!
Author Archives: Michael
From the Studio: Architecture Analysis
It has been an interesting semester thus far in my second year of architecture. We are working on Architectural Urbanism, exploring how architecture effects the city, and how a single building can change a certain site.
Our first step was to analyse the site-Monkok, a highly dense area in Kowloon that hosts a range of programs like street markets, book stores, live-work lofts, illegal structures, and big box malls.
The analysis of tenement housing in the site led us to the discovery of the eventual reclamation of the whole area.
I am excited about the next step of design and finding interventions that will change the city’s fabric.
Here is the full analysis with textual description and other drawings:
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Tianjin Memories
I’ve been back to Hong Kong for a week, and getting back into the swing of things has been difficult. Looking through my photos for this post made me miss Tianjin and remember the summer and all the adventures I had.
I remember the huge construction materials market-and dreaming about new projects.
I remember the hundred year old architecture in downtown Tianjin, where I spent times with my sisters, mom and friends.
I remember brainstorming with Jessie on her art portfolio and working in the blog office.
But I guess most of all, I remember the times I spent with my family. I miss you guys.
This post is part of my Memories Collection-revisiting places where Connecting Four really connected and explored the world together. See my Thailand Memories post here. See my Guilin Memories post here.
Guilin Memories
I am continuing my Memories Collection with one of my favorite places in China, Guilin. We went on a vacation to this scenic area in the South of China the first year our family lived in in the Middle Kingdom.
During our travels down the Li River, we stopped at small villages along the way. The locals in this semi-tropical area still lived in structures; some of which were hundreds of years old.
China’s token color is red, which we got a lot of throughout our trip to Guilin.
Another great part of the trip was the produce and food. Fresh berries and other fruit are produced in the area.
The historic legacy stretches into both culture and arts… below is a Chinese opera costume.
Lastly, known throughout China, the scenery in Guilin is, in itself, a compelling reason to visit this place. The sights are breathtaking and being able to traverse these karst mountains was a blast!
This post is part of my Memories Collection-revisiting places where Connecting Four really connected and explored the world together. See my Thailand Memories post here. See my Tianjin Memories here.
India is Served
This break has given me the chance to cook in our new house’s kitchen (at University I don’t really have a great space to work), and I’ve been exploring a bit in terms of drinks and food (Lemonade & Dumplings).
I decided to try out something I first tried four years ago (and have LOVED ever since!): Masala Chai Tea-thank you Ruth Bevis for introducing me to this incredible drink.
For a great recipe, you can reference Simply Recipes for their amazing Chai Tea– I make a few variations as compared to theirs.
I add chilli powder to my chai tea, it gives it a great spicy kick!
First: gather your ingredients, mix the dry ingredients well in a large saucepan and add water. You are going to want to bring the water and spices to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes before moving on to the tea.
Cover the saucepan to bring it to a boil quickly.
Secondly, remove from the heat and let the tea steep for around 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags.
Then, add the milk and brown sugar (or your preferred sweetener). Bring back to a simmer and keep warm til you serve.
Another great tip: Chill the tea after you are done, and serve over ice. It tastes just as good cold!
Serve with baked goods, cake, bars or even savoury food (curry or tandoori chicken?). Rachel made a special treat for us the other day and it was GREAT with the Chai!
(Here’s a preview of it):
Feels Like Summer
With only a few hours left in Tianjin, it is finally starting to feel like summer. Flowers are blooming, we’ve had blue skies for three days straight and the days are blending together with summer BBQs and dinners on the porch.
Needless to say, I am going to miss this a lot.
Flowers at a botanical garden in down town Tianjin.
My beautiful sister, Rachel.
Farewell Tianjin, the place where I spent one of the best summers of my life.
From the Studio: DIY Chevron Clutch
Cliche as it may be, I had to do something with this old pencil case. The Fidelity Federal Credit Union pouch was used for money, chequebooks or other documents (from my Dad’s first job at 16 years old!), but we now use it to store pens and markers. Some of the markers had discoloured the zip-up bag, and I knew the leather case could be transformed with just a bit of masking tape and some spray paint.
Time to make this into a chic clutch!
Use Masking tape to cover the area where you want to keep the original color, in my case this cool electric blue.
I painted some pink on the zipper, and lastly covered the whole clutch with silver. (Sorry for the image quality-iPhone pics!)
I really love how it turned out! The right-angled zig-zag is not quite a chevron, but it really gives a cool twist to the old chequebook carrier.
Pair this with a cocktail dress or keep using it for writing utensils.
Put it with this navy blue look, or these cute mint pants!
Thai Memories
In my room I have a piece of coral from Thailand, and yesterday I was looking at it, remembering the beach where I found it two years ago in Thailand.
As I look back on my high school years, our family vacations were some of the best days. Connecting Four was actually started on a family vacation in Malaysia (Our look book from the trip here).
I am so excited for my sisters to get back tomorrow and can’t wait for the fun times ahead–vacations are times to reconnect and invest in each other.
My piece of coral will serve a great decor accent in the new office.
In the tropics it rains a LOT, but the water droplets left behind are great inspiration.
Any fun memories from family vacations? Not-so-fun memories?
If you are in Koh Samui, Thailand, stay at Impiana. Quiet beach, rooms overlooking the water and great attendants.
This post is part of my Memories Collection-revisiting places where Connecting Four really connected and explored the world together. See my Guilin Memories post here. See my Tianjin Memories here.
Blog Office/Studio: Redecoration
Today is my last day of work, and I have only two weeks left in China. One project I want to complete before I leave is our current office. It was a place for me to set up my studio when I come to visit, and also a place for my sisters to work on art.
Now that we are focusing a bit more effort and time on the blog, I want to inject some crazy colors, patterns and inspirations into the room to get those creative juices flowing and provide a fun place to blog and create.
I’ve been inspired by a few people, namely: Katie from Paperfashion, Bri from Designlovefest and Joy from Oh Joy!.
Here is Katie’s office:
Inspiration from Bri:
Got some ideas from Joy for throw pillows (This&That):
Pillows below from
I’ve started a pinterest board-and started sketching:
I even tried to see if I could render the space with sketch-up:
We are well on our way for the re-decoration project! So excited to get rid of this:
Style: Tribal/Aztec
The style and design world has been taken by storm this summer by tribal and aztec inspired prints, fabrics, and accessories. I have really enjoyed following the trend and have really enjoyed a few in particular. Bri from Designlovefest had a ‘color fest’ post including a tribal tank a few months ago; and Lookbook.nu seems to be all about tribal prints:
From Shoes: (By CHEYSER P.)
To Shorts: (By LUA P.)
To Shirts: (By MOHCINE A.)
So I decided I had to get in on the action, and I designed a tribal/galaxy inspired pattern.
I also gained inspiration from our Geometric board on Pinterest. The tribal patterns that are popular right now are very geometric focused and use various shapes to create the effect.
I loved working on it and actually used AutoCAD for the vector work, then coloured it in using Photoshop.
Tips: Use galaxy images for filling and overlay-creates a great look and enriches the color. Use shadows and layering to help give depth and complexity to the design.