The question of how we would heat The Orchid has always been a big one. Cooling is a bit more straightforward since there are only so many options that are in the slightly affordable range. But heating – so many possibilities. The Hutongs of Beijing have always been notorious for making it through the cold […]
Here are some great shots of this evening’s roof raising ceremony. For the purposes of good luck upon finishing a roof, certain cuts of pork ribs were purchased along with some incense. Then, to keep spirits high we treated the workers to a great cut of meat, in this case pork face, for an added […]
Now is when things begin getting extremely interesting. A major second floor being raised overnight adds a lot more dimension to the yard and makes it feel like everything is moving along towards our architectural renderings (stay tuned for those!). Southern wall of the restaurant dining room is up! View from the street. A few […]
Walls are up finally, on what should also become our most well-placed and secluded large room. You can see five huge gaps – those are all massive double-pane glass windows. The first is for the bathroom and the rest for the room itself, with the furthest one acting also as a door for entering the […]
Here’s a fun one. It took only one day for these walls and the facade of the stairwell to come up. Still a ways away from having stairs though, so views from up top will have to wait.
Today the workers have built up the main facade bordering our central garden from the South. The facade also creates a main floor alleyway separating the two south bedrooms. A worker standing on a make-shift platform for placing the bricks Two hours later — Done.
Oh – look at that — A new room has been made! In only two days the structural walls have come up and all the support beams are in place to hold up the concrete ceiling. The grey brick facade has also been placed around the private garden. If we wall in the room with […]
A 10th room has been recovered. Loosely defined public space on the second floor has been repurposed into a wonderfully positioned luxury room with a generous amount of space, a superb view and a unique 2nd floor entrance. It would have made a great lounge space, but we feel we might have enough with the […]
Those familiar with our constantly updated building plans might also be aware of the plans for the South room. Looking from the point of view of Sketchup, this south room evenly fits in two identical small bedrooms with adjacent bathrooms. The reality — and CAD image — however, shows a completely different story; one that […]
When everyone’s busy, Mr. Guo’s little boy has to find ways to entertain himself. Having a yard full of bricks and pipes, glass and dirt everywhere sometimes does have its advantages: Can’t say for certain who the little boy on the right is though. They said he’s a neighbour’s son, but he seems to spend […]
