I had heard that building in China moves quickly, so I shouldn't have been surprised when, shortly after starting a new project, Partners Guy Geier and Heidi Blau asked me to join them on a 5-day trip to Fuzhou, with a stop in Taipei for the project kick-off. There, we were generously hosted by collaborating architects J.J. Pan and Partners and our new client, a major bank in Taiwan that is looking to expand into China.
Arriving in Beijing to record high pollution was like a punch in the nose. Having just read Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel, and carrying my new iPhone, I was feeling particularly culpable about my own contributions to the smog. We just barely caught our connecting flight to Fuzhou before the airport was shut down in hopes of clearing the air.
However, when we awoke the next morning the sky was mostly clear. We enjoyed what would be the first of many great meals (ask Guy about the "Power of the Bull"), and set out to tour the city and visit the project site. What follows is a breakneck blur of our one day in Fuzhou before getting to work in Taipei.
Arriving in Beijing to record high pollution was like a punch in the nose. Having just read Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel, and carrying my new iPhone, I was feeling particularly culpable about my own contributions to the smog. We just barely caught our connecting flight to Fuzhou before the airport was shut down in hopes of clearing the air.
However, when we awoke the next morning the sky was mostly clear. We enjoyed what would be the first of many great meals (ask Guy about the "Power of the Bull"), and set out to tour the city and visit the project site. What follows is a breakneck blur of our one day in Fuzhou before getting to work in Taipei.