Hong Kong

Putting the A/C at the right temperature

by

Air conditioning is a fantastic invention as it allows to remain cool when temperatures are reaching 30°C and even 40°C. However, in many buildings around the world, the A/C is not set at the right temperature. As the New York times noted :

“Without fail, every year since moving to Hong Kong, I get a really bad cold. (…) “Oh, it’s quite common this time of year,” my doctor told me. “Everyone gets sick.” He was referring to the time of year that Hong Kong cranks up its air-conditioning. “

I have read that the same situation occurs in Singapore. I have witnessed it first hand in Europe as well. Others have told me about such a situation in America. This is a widespread phenomenon.

Read more

A great idea for tiny apartments

by

In the age of scarcity, space can be a very expensive commodity. Hong Kong architect Gary Chang had an awesome idea to solve this : he transformed his 32 square meters appartment into a much bigger one with sliding walls.

This very simple yet ingenious idea allows him to have in a relatively secluded place many different rooms such as a library, a full kitchen, a bathroom with a tub and a spare bedroom. He even has a laundry room !

As you can imagine such a creative idea has travelled all around the world and Mr. Chang’s appartment was featured in the New York Times, the AFP and TreeHugger.

Read more

Great astrophotographies – February 2010

by

This is time for me to present my selection of the best pictures of the NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). As always, this month was packed with beautiful images. It was as always difficult to select just ten.

My favorite picture for this month is Dark Shuttle Approaching, a picture taken from the International Space Station. The beautiful colours are caused by Earth’s atmosphere and its various layers.

I am absolutely still amazed at how many splendors can be seen at night. I just hope we may find a way to make our nights darker so more people can see them.

Read more

Air pollution in Hong Kong

by

As I wrote previously on this website an article on China and the pollution issues it is facing, I wanted to go deeper in this important problem. This is why I will exemplify with the case of the Hong Kong administrative region.

Hong Kong (also known as HK) is a 6.9-million people urban area constituted by more than 260 islands. It is located in Eastern Asia, and is bordering the South China Sea. Hong Kong has 30 kilometres of regional borders with the People’s Republic of China. This large city has the privilege to enjoy more than 700 kilometres of coastline, which makes it a perfect harbour.

Read more

%d bloggers like this: