The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu Great Wall

I am honored to have been called to assist in Bhutan on the Drinchengang heritage village project in Wandue Phodrang province. The high point of my week's visit was an audience with His Majesty to receive personal guidance about this royal initiative.

Escaping summer heat this week. Here we are on a 50F morning at Heavenly Lake in Xinjiang with snowy peaks above and hiking by a rushing stream flowing from the lake.

Rome's extraordinary Centrale Montemartini: Plato, Claudius, Icarus, Apollo, Apollo's lips, a golden boy and so much more. The city's first power plant turned into a trove of excavated archeological treasures.

Program for Royal Asiatic Society Beijing the other night with Wenkai Zhong speaking on adaptive reuse in countryside houses I have designed and Professor Ron Knapp sharing his expertise and wisdom on Chinese vernacular architecture from New York via Zoom. He raised the question of maximum allowable change, how much development is possible while still sustaining an authentic village life.

What an honor to be a keynote speaker last night at the Citic Press Global Partner Reception held for 100 international publishers in conjunction with the annual Beijing International Book Fair.

Any of you around Beijing, welcome you to come, Please bring curiosity, comments, and questions. Thank you to RASBJ for providing a platform to share my story.

Today I made a lunch of fusilli alla puttanesca, grilled sausage, tomato salad, and a tiramisu for Wang Meng and friends. He inscribed the preface he wrote in my own copy of Home at the Wall. I really admire this writer who at 90 years old continues to create and live every day fully. Carpe diem!

Honored that World Architecture (WA), Qinghua University's international professional journal, has today recommended my book Home at the Great Wall. Follow this link to see the review in Chinese:

mp.weixin.qq.com

As one of the interviewees I was honored to attend the premier of Living History: Stories from the Opening of China. The event was in Shanghai on Thursday evening and Ambassador Burns spoke with his usual grace and humor. This documentry series was sponsored by Amcham Shanghai and the Shanghai consulate . Check out the youtube channel: https://youtube.com/?si=bub-spkB8zpHc_ik When my 30 minute segment drops I'll be sure to let you know, but why not just subscribe -- you'll meet a lot of other interesting people!

Book talk yesterday in Hangzhou's Nansong Bookstore, designed by China's Pritzker Prize winning Wang Shu. What a setting to be able to speak about my own designs to an attentive audience.

Book talk on Saturday in Shanghai's Tsutaya Bookstore -- located in a beautifully restored American Navy Club.