Showing posts with label interior design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interior design. Show all posts

2023/03/03

高街~曾被遺忘的人

高街前精神病院石壁


三月份的香港,難得仍然有種乾爽涼快的感覺,和朋友一起往港島慢行,細味香港過去的一些痕跡,始於西營盤,邊走邊看⋯行到高街。

也許不用我多説,很多香港人也會對於這間曾在日治時期被用來作為刑場、對面則是亂葬岡(現今是佐治五世紀念公園)的麻瘋/精神病院十分熟悉;它的名聲來自式各樣的鬼故事,有的繪形繪聲,也有由傳説愈傳愈變"真"的種種 "鬼屋經歷"。 以往,自己每次路經此地的時候,多數是天陰陰、乍暖還寒,所以也只會在外圍走走;今天卻在清風送爽之下,和朋友一起入內探索(現今是一間開放的社區大樓)。

由於朋友是位護士小姐,我們的話題自然地一邊想像、一邊嘗試勾畫出昔日病房內的情景,每個空間(現只遺留下走廊及立面外牆)和病人與醫護的生活日常。初時我們在推拷迴廊上可會有鐵欄?每個百頁窗會否相等於一間病房的闊度?房間有多深?又或者其實是一個很大的室內,放置了幾十張病床,病人被布帶挷在床上,醫護穿梭於病床之間,彷如那些戰爭片的軍用醫院一般? 又或者是⋯

當我們再發現了在石欄上似乎有些鐵枝遺痕的時候,並在正門入口一個模糊的門牌上隱約見到病院原本建築的圖形;又或許,這條美麗的迴廊,其實是一條連於左右兩座呈90度病院建築物的一條通道,由於非病人所到之處,所以只需在頭尾加鐵窗?
       
                   
高街精神病院迴廊

這樣,即是説病人其實不會見到外街? 他們是過著一個怎樣的生活呢?是如何的一個世界?這些曾經瘋傳的鬼故事,除了可以嚇人和增加此處的神秘色彩之外,可有提醒我們在很久以前,這裏確實有一大群活生生的香港人生活過?或許當年他們是在不得已的情況之下被安放至此,但今天,可有人也在不知不覺之間,被我們放在心裏面另一間"瘋人院"而漸漸地,他/她也被遺忘!

P.S. 後記~由於心有不甘,仍然很想知道此處的原貌平面圖,偶爾被我找到這個Blog https://blog.ulifestyle.com.hk/article/benng9413入面其中一張相片,下層迴廊原本是有鐵欄的。


2017/02/07

不想做個"機關"算盡的設計師

啱啱教完上一季嘅興趣班, 同學們例牌會問嘅問題係: 
1) 係房起個地台擺嘢好唔好? 
2) 升高張床下面做衣櫃書枱好唔好?
3) 張睡床摺上摺落好唔好?

通常我都會答: 
如果唔好收埋咁多無謂嘢, 善用空間, 上面三個問題嘅答案就梗係"唔好" 啦!

不過時而世逆, 可能因為"納米樓"嘅出現, 以後想唔好都唔得啦!

前排係會展見到一個展覽, 其中一D室内空間運用亦係因為住屋面積愈嚟愈少而設計嘅. 例如張睡床要行完好多級唔啱人體工學嘅"儲物樓梯級"先可以去到. 又話者你哋係電視上都會見到嘅"厠所浴室門共用"方案; 梳化下面暗藏浴缸(當然係放係客廳啦)...等等. 將來我哋呢行嘅前景(以住宅設計而言) 就會變成設計"機關" 主導.

我諗新嘅物料, 家具小五金用嚟整"機關"配件, 空調抽風系統亦都會相對革新. 短期内應該會令市場有D新鮮感, 甚至會造就好多主打呢類樓盤嘅新興設計師; 不過無論係對用家同設計師嚟講, 長遠嚟睇絶對唔係好事.

一個原本可以簡單舒適嘅家會變成好複雜同忙亂, 例如突然覺得凍想攞件衫都可能要: 先執番枱面D嘢, 摺番埋張枱, 泊番隻浴室門, 同衣櫃(如果仲有的話) 前面做緊其他嘅家庭成員貼身調換位置之後, 先去到其實只係距離不到6呎嘅目的地完成"任務"......要返回原位繼續工作.....(請自行逆轉動作一次)......希望呢個惡夢唔會成真.


2016/10/13

Reuse

Fabric sample colorwayWhat do you think an interior designer got most? Money? Client? Software? Paper? ........ Material Samples !!!

Even thought we are now using images and photos to present sample board to our clients, but actual material still plays an important role because we need to feel the real texture + to see the true color.

So...what it comes to the end, we stock tons and tons of fabric, plastic laminate, tile and mosaic, metal, timber, glass, etc. 

Well, of course it can be simply throw to the rubbish bin afterward, but if you love Interior Design, you love them especially the high quality fabric in full colorway.
  
                                             A new cover to my manual ! 


Fabric jacket for a manuel(Yes, user manual is also one of my "stock item" because I love to read with the real paper touch) 

"A double face" pocket that can protect my almost dead manual, two pieces of fabric are just enough to sew one, simple and unique. 




Add a bit of detail inside 
to secure the booklet.
 


DIY manual fabric jacket

Voila! Reuse project done :) 
How about you? 
Got some ideas to reuse yours?

2016/08/02

做個自給自足的設計師(二)

首先必需向大家道歉一聲, 原來轉眼又一年多了. 生活上不能自控的變化也就是我們這些業餘博客所遇到的最大問題; 如果你是一個"自給自足的設計師", 被逼暫停"副業" 更是無可避免的; 畢竟...要生活嘛 :D

希望你仲記得上年呢篇網誌(一), 老實講, 我都要睇番先記得自己寫過咩??
"自給自足"係一段日子之後己經唔多適用係室内設計師身上, 如果你要佢學呢學路仲要自己攪, 真係睬你都儍. 一係叫公司發俾 Freelancer, 再唔係就師傅自己地盤搞掂. 

返工一定準時收工, 唔想亦唔期望升職, 去學點樣有效快速咁捉多隻精靈好過. ..我諗, 咁會啱聽D. 

點解我唔想繼續寫點様自給自足法呢? 一方面係社會環境, 客人需求同新一代年青人係心態上都改變咗好多. 係有限時間入面揀去做D咩同學D咩, 已經唔係咁理性. 要去趕科技, 例如3D 打印, 環保物料應用; 調較人際關係去改善見客或者工程管理等等... 似乎學得嚟又有新嘢, 面對面遘通更加係最無興趣, 既然對呢行無慾無求, 咁又何必搞咁多呢!

不過聽完以上一段"現實感歎" 之外, 又唔好太灰. 因為有部份無論係在職或者打算入職嘅一群, 仍然好有心想學多D, 做個全面一D嘅設計師. 不求人或至少危急時自己都頂得住嘅DNA仍然會令佢哋至終擁有自給自足嘅條件, 絶對會係終極求生嘅優勢, 加油!!!

2013/11/09

Let there be LIGHT

planter pot on spot sunlight


Imagine if we were living in a total darkness, no light, even a tiny sparkle of star light, what will happen? There will not have any meaning to DESIGN !

Light,  not only help us to visualize but create dramatic effect to all creatures. Without light,
there is no silhouette, color, texture, sensation to everything around us. 

Lighting design of what we are talking about is not only the outlook of the light fitting, the most important is the arrangement and color temperature of the light bulb that can enhance or spoil an interior within seconds. 

A simple rule to remember, "Kalvin" is the color temperature unit that we will come across when purchase a light fitting, i.e. 'K". 

2700-3000K = warm white light, make us feel like seating next to a cozy filament light bulb.

2700K is more yellowish, i.e. more antique

3000K is in lighter yellow, I will say more comfortable, but at the end it is still subjected to what atmosphere you would like to create.

4000K = white light, I rarely recommend especially for residential because it makes
the interior look "pale".

5000-5500K  = day light, like the feeling of what we are walking under a sunny day. 
Also rarely used for residential unless you want a special effect, because it feel good at outdoor but too bright for interior in such a comparatively small space.

So, pay a bit of attention to the color temperature when you choose a new lamp for your home next time, it really matters.

2013/08/28

East meet West?

Chinese shop door with American Express tag
East meet West? nothing new! but rarely match, exactly the same feeling as, when I saw this "closed" signage of "America Express" hung onto a very traditional Chinese bi-fold doors in Beijing.

Like "Starbucks in the Forbidden City", although we love coffee very much, it's still awkward to see a western culture located inside a 101% Chinese architecture......is this what we think?

Is it a matter of design issue? historical reason? or cultural difference that creates the discomfort which spoil the harmonize of the overall environment? I don't think so. 

In fact, there should not have any conflict of having a relaxing coffee moment while taking the exploring trip in the mysterious Forbidden City..........but if we treat this as a commercial or western cultural intrusion, then it's not difficult to understand the leaving of Starbuck which was suggested to be combined as part of the beverage outlet inside.

Is there a way that East meet West can be succeeded? In terms of design field, some designer claim that they've made it, but in my memory, I still can't name one, can you?!

2012/05/01

3D Ready?

3D in rendering process
從針筆到電腦, 由AutoCad到Sketchup, 不知不覺又走進3D Rendering的世界,真的無可避免嗎?如果可以,我還是想逃避...但當你一踏入這個虛擬空間,又會被那種無限制的可塑性深深吸引着.

以往我們所熟識的3D軟件總離不開3dsmax, Autocad 3D, V-ray, Maya, Z Brush, Maxwell...等,有些以程式員作為開發對象,所以介面設計得異常複雜及沉悶;又或以集合所有對手軟件功能於一身為目的,結果落得粗製濫造收場,單單打開軟件已花了不少時間,更惶論真正運算時要用強勁的硬件組合去抵銷.另外有些其實是比較適用於動畫製作上的,硬要用於室內或產品設計,就變得大才小用,難以發輝軟件的強大效能了.

Sketchup的出現,令3D發展成由一般設計師及建築師亦可自行由概念演繹至立體空間,不用假手於人,設計流程變得更暢順,效果也更易掌握.3D Rendering 軟件亦百花齊放:Blender, Shaderlight, Twinlight, Lightwave, C4D, Kerkythea, Artlantis, Rhino.......等等,等等!問題是,現今的硬件及軟件雖然頗成熟,但在香港,人材仍然缺乏.何解?進深研習,不停測試,對光線及美感的掌握,對各種物料受光及反光特質的研究等...又是回到“時間”及“基礎訓練”這兩個問題上.

無疑我們的“快餐文化”容不下“精心”製作,但期望仍然有一些在3D效果製作上有熱誠的同行,用心去發展,令我們的成品水準不至過分落後於其他西方設計師.

Starting from technical pen on paper, move on to computer Autocad in 2D; a bit further from 2D to Sketchup 3D, and now? ready for 3D rendering? As a designer instead of a 3D modeller, truly speaking I would not prefer to step into this field...this is what my original thinking was because it's a "technique" and very time consuming. But once you've step in, you will be addicted to it's power of "nothing is impossible".

3dsmax, Autocad 3D, V-ray, Maya, Z Brush, Maxwell...,etc. are some of the common use 3D softwares that we are familiar with; some were developed on a technician base and resulting in a non-human user interface, or some were aimed to gather all functions from their competitors to form a "super all-in-one" rendering software, guess what? you will have problem to open the software if your machine is not powerful enough, not even think about of their millions hidden tools. And some are actually built for animation, well, you can use it to render your interior, but it's a bit under-use instead of using a matching software due to the different tools design in purpose.

The birth of Sketchup leads designer /architect into a totally new design thinking pattern, we can work from our concept to 3D world easily, more accurate of space study, more foreseeable and controllable result = more complicated design to be created and save much time to liaise with a third party who can't 100% know what your final picture is. As a result, more and more companies are willing to develop some new 3D rendering software or even plug in. Blender, Shaderlight, Twinlight, Lightwave, C4D, Kerkythea, Artlantis, Rhino.......etc, etc. Today, there are numerous well developed software and supportive hardware that we can make use of, but the major issue is...we are lacking of "Mr. Right"!

If you make a search on Internet, you will find a great difference of quality levels in those 3D models created by what we've seen in Hong Kong and from other foreign countries. What actually happen is we can't /don't spend "time" to study deep into this field; art sense, lighting behavior, material behavior, camera adjustment......these are not important via a quick template like outcome, both in time and money affortable, as we think?!

Although it's a bit sad, I still hope that there will be a 3D modeller, or an architect, a designer somewhere in Hong Kong who aware of this situation and is willing to dedicate more to increase our 3D production standard by their great experience and enthusiasm.



2011/08/08

夢幻收藏家 Collector of Imagination

Color wall made by color pencils
香港是一個人囗密集的地方, 很多人也住在一個小蝸居, 空間的限制卻一點也沒有影響人們收藏至愛的嗜好! 毛公仔丶動畫角色手辨、香水仔丶漫畫書、CD丶模型車、飛機仔...等等, 各式其式; 可有想過收藏顏色筆?

有玩收藏遊戲的朋友可能也會定時定候到Felissimo逛逛, 這裏有按月從日本寄出的可供收藏物品, 由柸碟剪貼圖案, 衣物飾物以至雨傘裝飾繩簾等, 一般要三個月至一年才可集齊所有款色, 而想擁有這500支有名有姓的木顏色便要花上20個月, 每月收到25色...嘩!可真要有相當的耐性啊!

有趣的是每支顏色也配上一個美麗而引人幻想的名字, 如:"雨後的八仙花", "南極的黎明女神", "南非的紅鶴", "鯉魚飛躍的天空"...你能想像它們是什麽顏色嗎?

也許在家中擁有這幅"顏色掛畫"並不比一幅名畫或水晶吊燈來得豪華, 但擁有500個由顏色引發的幻想可不簡單, 你可曾有過到南極看黎明的夢想嗎? 夢想, ...我有,也許不止500個, 你呢?

Japanese definition of color shade
What is so special of collecting color pencils? How about a total of 500 pieces? Or every month you've only got 25 nos. meaning you need to wait for 20 months? And how about they've got their own beautiful names.

"carp in the sky" "hydrangea after the rain" "aurora in the South Pole" " flamingo of the South Africa"... can you imagine what their actual color is?

All can be connected from Felissimo, you may think this "color wall" is nice but nothing compare with the famous art piece or chandelier in your house; but I will say the 500 imaginations that bring from them is nothing that can compare with. Don't you ever thought of one day you are relaxing next to a crowd of Flamingo in Africa? just enjoy the wild freedom under the unspeakable amazing scene from the nature...

Dream, I have too many, may be already over 500, how about you?