Buildings Bookcase

In Praise of Shadows Exhibition at V&A London 2009 on Vimeo.


I just got round to adding a little Amazon 'Buildings Bookcase' to my ever growing sidebar. This was quite a fun exercise in picking out 10 books loosely based on Architecture with a capital 'A' and stuff that's a bit more fuzzy around the edges. One of the books that came to mind very quickly was 'In Praise of Shadows' by the rather wonderfully named Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. 


I was recommended to read this by a tutor many years ago and it's one of those books that once you read it you just don't forget. It's very short, very subtle and very well written. It harks back to a simpler way of life in Japan, when paper screens and candles ruled the roost, before Western culture invaded and they went all neon. What's interesting is this book was written in the 70's and now the tables are turning. This may be a wild generalisation but the West seems to be going all Eco (see above interview on a London lighting exhibition named after this book) while the East just cannot get enough technology. 


I don't usually touch on work on this blog but it's funny that I spent the morning touching up photoshop renders to tone them down a bit from what comes back from our Chinese rendering company, to make them better suit my eyes (to use a bit of Chinghlish) but at the same time I could be short selling us out of a sale with a Chinese client who generally can't get enough bling. As the saying goes you can't see light without shadows. Whatever, the book is recommended to all, not just Architects wearing funny glasses.

Spartacus the Motor Bike

Quite an amusing article in the Times about electric motor 'doping'. I'm surprised a big name media brand has picked up on this, as I'd have put it more in the murky world of internet forums. Must explain why the Murdoch ownded Team Sky didn't win any of the Classics then i guess. Thanks to Tom for the link.

http://timescorrespondents.typepad.com/charles_bremner/2010/06/the-swiss-champion-and-a-magic-electric-bike-.html

Puur

Good name for a company doing very nice resin floors. I can hear the HK property developer asking now "what, no tiles?"

http://www.puur.uk.com/poured_resin_floors.php

Retro Campagnolo

Credit due to Mr Smiff for sending me through a link to a rather nice looking Eddy Merckx on fleabay. Seeing the close ups of the pristine 8 speed Record groupset does make me think Campagnolo kind of lost their way a bit with all the carbon stuff- those old chainsets actually look much nicer. And don't even get me started on skeleton brakes and the 'new' quick releases...


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1993-EDDY-MERCKX-TITANE-Litespeed-Campagnolo-Record-vgc-/360265800906?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e183dcca

Geotagger's World Atlas

This such an incredible idea - it maps the places where people take photos in our cities, making these mad maps that look more like medical scans than cities. This one's Hong Kong (can you spot the star ferry?!?) but check out the series. 


http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/sets/72157623971287575/

No wonder nothing is made in Italy any more

Boo hiss Eurosport & Italian technology. I want to watch the pain and suffering on the Gavia pass in today's Giro d'Italia but there's no live coverage due to them not being able to transmit any video footage! So here's a picture of the offending low reception mountain.


http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2010/05/update-gavia-pass-for-saturday.html

Edward Burtynsky

Another great find from the Art Fair was Edward Burtynsky. Aside from having a great name this guy does amazing photographs of industrial landscapes like this. It's not a bike or a building but ships are kind of a combination of the spirit of a bike and a building when you think about it.http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

Bird Cage

The definite highlight of tonight's Hong Kong Art Fair was this gigantic model of KPF''s Shanghai Finance Centre, complete with live birds inside. How much we ask.

Bike Storage Japan Style

This is quite fun.http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/1630/Japan+Bike+Storage.html

Busted Carbon

Having snapped two Yeti 575 carbon rear triangles I'm pretty skeptical of carbon mountain bikes. Could have been worse.


http://www.bustedcarbon.com/2010/05/specialized-s-works-stumpjumper.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BustedCarbon+(Busted+Carbon)

Flandis vs. Pharmstrong

I'm not going to weigh in on this one but just to say this is worth a read:-http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/cycling/article7133884.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Desert Prada

OK- it's an art installation in the middle of Texas.


http://gracefulspoon.com/blog/2010/02/24/giant/

Chi Ma What?

Bit of a catch up post from last Sunday's Action Asia mtb race around Chi Ma Wan. The good news was that former HKMBA chairman Bob (pictured with Afgan beard above) was back visiting from Afganistan for the week so it was great to catch up, the beers in the China Bear waiting for the ferry back to Central being a particular highlight.

The bad was that I seem to have lost my mojo for racing mountain bikes. I always seem to finish the same position in these races (between 6th and 8th) and Sunday I was 7th. I won my age category (welcome to the 30's) with plenty of room to spare but somehow I'm still so far off really competing in these races and it takes so much effort to keep the mtb technical skills going that I'm not sure how many more Action Asia races I'll do. I enjoy the social aspect but when the winner puts 20 minutes into you in 2 hours, but you can beat him on the road it makes you wonder what you're doing! We'll see. Bob's photos up here and some more action photos here.http://www.actionasiaevents.com

One Island East

I'm a bit busier than usual (note lack of blog posts) but the new office is quite nice. 

Stalker

I'm a big fan of Tarkovsky's 'Stalker', but having learned some of the people who helped film this masterpiece got cancer as a result of going in 'The Zone' I'm in no hurry to visit. So a video game seems an excellent option- this screen shot makes it look pretty cool. Great article:- 

http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/ghosts-of-future-borrowing-architecture.html

Sky Shots

Some excellent Team Sky photos from the Giro on facebook at the minute. Cyclingnews please take note.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=177145&id=194104484872

Pro Bike Pron: Lothar Thom's Cinelli Laser

With all the cyclingnews Giro TT bike coverage, such as Wiggins's Pinarello, Millar's Felt & Pinotti's Scott, I thought I'd do an alternative post on one of the most beautiful TT bikes ever dreamed up- the Cinelli Laser. This was built in 1984, yes, 1984 for East German track sprinter Lothar Thoms, who must have been a pretty big guy looking at this frame. 

The stand out features of this frame are the integrated headset, top tube and stem in-line with the top tube, which is very much an in vogue thing to do in 2010 for TT bikes, such as Pinotti's Scott. Also, de-rigeur is the solid outer chainring and the smoothed off tube junctions. The difference is this frame was all done in steel rather than carbon fibre and the integrated headset was done with a quill stem because Aheadsets hadn't been invented! Check out the below section through the head tube, courtesy of Gilco Design.

So, what I don't get is if they had all these aero features figured out in 1984, why the hell does the bike have bullhorn bars? Oh yes, that's because no one had invented tri bars yet!!! It'd be very interesting to see how this bike stacked up in a wind tunnel against the modern day wonders, and I suspect it'd do quite well with the right set of handlebars. But when one considers that 75% of rider drag is position orientated (according to this study) I'll bet the bullhorn bar choice would negate all these minor gains from smooth tubing shapes etc. making for an aero bike that was a bit like designing the fastest Ducatti the world has ever seen then putting some chopper handlebars on as your finishing touch. Evidently a bike far far ahead of it's time, and a really interesting anomaly when one considers how unadvanced rider positioning was back then. But these anomalies are what makes things interesting from a historical perspective. What is evidently timeless is the beauty of the details and the sheer craftsmanship involved. Italian bike design at it's best. Key images and info sourced from:

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/g/denny10.htm

Where Did The Hills Go?

Not the most scenic day in the Kong. This is kind of the view from my new office window. Funny not to see the hills behind- pollution or fog?

Top Step

Did a points race in Macau on Sunday where I scored the top step with a little help from my Colossi team mates. Frustratingly I lost the final sprint which turned out to be the most important, but such is life- if 60kph isn't quick enough to shake someone off your wheel then there's not much you can do to stop them coming around you. Note slightly surreal casino background environment. Race report up on:-

http://www.colossi.cc/reports

Pompidou Two

Interesting that the Louvre and Guggenheim foundations chose Abu Dhabi for new outposts. The Pompidou chose, hmmm, Metz.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/11/pompidou-metz-inauguration-nicolas-sarkozy

Twiggo Time

Ed Litton

A proper piece of 'art' for any bike geek.


http://trackosaurusrex.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry080213-003926

Corten Japan

Just another nice Japanese house. Why don't we ever see stuff like this in Hong Kong?!?


http://www.greatfa.com/japanese-architecture-home-boukyo-by-nakayma-architects-in-japan/

Colossi Factory Visit

A fantastic visit to the colossi factory in Shenzhen yesterday. I loved seeing all the machinery- including an Italian hydaulic jig that looked like it must have weighed a good few tonnes, and watching the whole process at work. I felt a bit like a kid in a sweetshop picking up bits of chainstay here, a lug there. Watch this space for some follow up to that visit...


Click below for the full gallery:-

Colossi Factory Visit 7th May 2010

Outside the Box

It's been a while since I read a blog that really made me laugh and this photo most certainly did that. Waffle and Steel's coverage of the Shanghai Bike Show is also excellent.

http://www.wafflesandsteel.com/guangzhou-cycling/musings-thinking-outside-the-box/