TRIP NOTES: CHINA [Dec 2018]
Rough notes from a weeklong revisit to China: Beijing, Wuhan, Changsha, Kunming. Mix of travel tips and reflection, with summarizing thoughts at end. Written with the understanding that these stories are indicative, not representative. For context: I lived in Wuhan 2009-2010 and Beijing 2010-2014. The highspeed rail makes this journey in ~6 hours CITY-CENTERED THOUGHTS … Continue reading TRIP NOTES: CHINA [Dec 2018]
How Buildings Learn: Beijing Hutongs (thoughts on the unpublished chapter)
The hutongs north of Beijing’s Forbidden City have always been my favorite part of the city. Narrow alleyways, curving about, full of chaotic day to day life. Or so, that was my experience hearing my mother’s stories from the early 1980s (as a Hong Konger living in Beijing as it opened up), followed by my … Continue reading How Buildings Learn: Beijing Hutongs (thoughts on the unpublished chapter)
Making infrastructure sexy
On Infrastructure The Temple of Heaven, a favorite site for a kid living in 1990s Beijing, captured my imagination with its careful construction. Working in 2007 as an engineering intern with Washington State’s Dept of Transportation— cataloging old boring piles for Seattle’s (only recently completed) waterfront viaduct revamp— drew my attention to the behind-the-scenes efforts … Continue reading Making infrastructure sexy
Dialogues on Infrastructure
The following is an elaborated transcription from an in-person dialogue on Infrastructure. For a more navigable version of this content, see this Notion page. This session is going to be an open conversation. I’ll first seed it with my own thoughts from my own discipline, and will then open it up for others to share … Continue reading Dialogues on Infrastructure