This was the first time — so far the only time — we left the valley during the pandemic — to another valley! Thank Irene for the invitation and the organisation. And thanks a lot to Anna who picked us up! It was a great pleasure to know and talk with Giacomo&Daniella, story lines continue to be intertwined!
Thanks for the invitation from Prof. Gennaro Postiglione, we did our first online lecture for students of Politecnico di Milano. Is it funny? Yes. Is it better than face-to-face experience? No.
On October 2015, yoko saw a news on Facebook, shared by a never-really-talked friend. It was a call for under-35 designers participating the 21st triennial of Milan.
We met Bach when we were about to leave Milan in October last year. We were selling our no-need-anymore stuffs. She came to our place to take a tent in a morning. We talked a little while and agreed to arrange another time to talk longer. She then went on her one day trip to somewhere. We soon left Milan, into the mountain.
Several months later, we were told that she had got a place in Corso Porta Ticinese in Milan, an undoubted popular spot pretty near city center. It was a great step forward for Bach from running online business to having a real shop in such a place. We were quite happy when she asked us to be her consultants on interior design. Moreover, Mi, who studied industrial design in school and works in a famous Milanese styling company joined us.
Composed by Bach (interactive design), Bach’s boyfriend Yuan (automobile design), Mi (product & styling design) and we two (architecture), a multi-disciplined team was formed.
Continue reading Bach ShopYou see, we did trick on the feedback rating stars:
Then we got back some trickier stars:
In front of the building we live, there are three trees, standing in snow. We collected some snow and made a pot for the smallest one. Then it stood in a pot but not snow. Continue reading Tree Pot
In limited time of site survey, architects collect information by observing, taking notes, sketching, photographing, taking video, talking to locals etc.. When they are back in office, they make sense out of them, giving birth to report, diagram and site model. By then, the whole team can get a good understanding of the site especially by look at the site model talking about the site, away from site.
Continue reading Rooming a Space
In response to the theme “re-appropriation” of MIAW 2010, we wanted to dig out some hidden values in the campus. In the building of architecture school, during breaks, people chat outside the classroom while lean against handrails, on which coffee cups or coke tins can always be found. People do it naturally. But the performance of handrail could be better. By just adding wooden boards, we found the potential of handrail lying in its width. Finally, it was proved to be highly welcomed.
Continue reading Pausa Café
Snowing! We made a snow cat in 15 minutes before going to school.
Continue reading Snow Cat
The second house we lived in Milan was a super tiny one, about just 20 m². Small as it was, everything had to go vertical: Washing machine on top of fridge; bed on top of a balcony in between bathroom and wardrobe, connected to the living room with a moveable wooden ladder; orange tile on top of bathroom, indicating you could sit there eating watermelon in summer; of course, you could lie or sit or put things on top of wardrobe too.
Although it was so small, it had almost everything to support our life: except fridge and washing machine we talked before, there are a tiny balcony, a ceiling fan, an oven, a shower room, a bidet, and so on. We loved it when we saw it the first time.
Continue reading Lamp A
Our first home in Milan was the left one above, with a big door facing street directly. Functioning as both door and window, most of its surface was made of glass; concerning privacy, translucent glass was used.
Continue reading Door Garden
When we moved into our previous house, we was captured by the little balcony. It brought us fantastic view. However, the concrete ground was not in a good condition, rough and untidy. We kept this in mind till we encountered a set of bed planks in IKEA.
Continue reading Nuts BalconyOur last home, Via Conte Rosso 36, was next to one of the main exhibition area of Salone di Mobile (Milan Design Week). The official guide map suggested people a walking path from metro/train station to the exhibition area. It passed exactly under our balcony.
