Flat Pack

Seemingly much nicer as an idea than as reality...

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/page/features/?id=109394#.Ukk0N9KBnvU

Behind the Wheel

This weekend I shall mostly be behind the wheel of a 1968 Porsche 911 in Nortfolkshire. Let's hope the steering wheel has wooden trimmings and all! :-)

Swedish Sci-Fi Suburbia

Spaceships & Volvos- a good combination.

http://www.simonstalenhag.se/

Turrellipse

Mmmm James Turrell- brings back memories of Chichu...

http://archidose.blogspot.hk/2013/09/james-turrell-inside-guggenheim.html

Way Out West / Tai Oh

And to round the week off, I hit the most westerly point of Lantau with a monster Saturday Tai Oh ride in the sizzling heat. Cue pseudo hipster photo opportunity of bike in front of graffiti. Ah sh*t, no- graffiti would be too counter culture for Hong Kong, so I have to make do with children's murals. Not so hipster after all.

Way Out West / To The Tip

With the XCR on the MTR, a mid week hit out to the most Westerly point of Kowloon is indeed possible. Great to still be discovering new roads after all this time. Take me to the tip... I mean the waste recycling facility!

Bamboo

As good as Asian House in Admiralty will ever look.

Arno Kilo

Aron gets his suffer face on during last week's track training session. I'm ashamed to admit that I was so hungover I wasn't capable of leaving my flat with a track bike, let alone making it to Whitehead to ride a kilo. Curse you strawberry daiquiris. Shame on you champagne. Never any more white wine. Recinde rum & red wine. Go away G&T. You get the picture...

Sagrada

Gaudi meets Generation Y.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2013/sep/02/skywalkers-on-edge-in-pictures#/?picture=416343427&index=6

Bauge

Cheese munching surrender monkeys produce another nice track bike shocker.

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2013/08/eurobike-2013-uber-gallery-02/#27

Unbuilt Wren

Quasi laptop presenting / faux research aside, I've been quite enjoying the BBC series on 'Unbuilt Britain', available on cheeky VPN for another day or two? Of particular note was the man Mr Chris Wren's Masterplan after the great fire of London. The BBC compared it to Robert Bruce's Glasgow, and whilst the comparison is interesting and valid, a point the BBC missed was that Bruce, like Corbusier in Paris, was essentially provocative in his radicalism. Of course Bruce & Corb both knew that they were never going to be allowed to knock down the key historical monuments in their respective cities, but by suggesting so they caused a stir and added credence to their campaigns.

The context of Wren was quite different- in 1666 there existed a genuine opportunity to radically improve London's streetscape & infrastructure. Any monuments were destroyed in the fire and essentially it was only British short termist parochialism that prevented this plan materialising. And so London lives on with it's Medieval haphazard planning. Yes, it has its moments, but if you ever want to get anywhere it can't half be annoying.

http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/OnlineWorkshops/UrbanAdventures/01Wren.aspx#.UiXsFmSSD0A