A Pair of Developers Break With Tradition in Hong Kong

 The Tung Fat Building in Kennedy Town was converted to eight apartments, one per floor. The exterior was refurbished, but its corners retain the curves characteristic of Modernism. – Credit: Denice Hough

The Tung Fat Building in Kennedy Town was converted to eight apartments, one per floor. The exterior was refurbished, but its corners retain the curves characteristic of Modernism. – Credit: Denice Hough


HONG KONG (The New York Times) — The Tung Fat Building has a prized waterfront position in Kennedy Town, the westernmost neighborhood on the crowded north shore of Hong Kong Island.

Its Cantonese name translates as the “Get Rich Together” building, one of many such aspirational titles for Hong Kong apartments and offices, old and new.

But for its owners, the “tong lau,” or walkup tenement, has been a decade-long cash sinkhole, although the expense should be ending now that the concrete building’s unusual renovation is all but completed. Continue reading

Saving a Thirsty City: How a computer scientist brought “sweet water” to a Chinese metropolis

Prof. Jimmy Lee, Department of Computer Science & Engineering

Prof. Jimmy Lee, Department of Computer Science & Engineering


When one Chinese coastal city was looking for pure, fresh “sweet water,” they turned to Prof. Jimmy Lee. Professor Lee has devoted his time to solving complex scheduling problems by developing the most efficient solution to the difficult task of when and how much river water to draw. Continue reading

Making a Building’s Water System Into a Hydroelectric Plant

Daryl Ng in the water meter room of a Kowloon shopping mall, where a hydrogeneration system is being tested.

Daryl Ng in the water meter room of a Kowloon shopping mall, where a hydrogeneration system is being tested.


HONG KONG (The New York Times) – Daryl Ng was taking a long shower, as he does every morning. And his wife, as she does every morning, scolded him for needlessly using so much water.

“How can I justify the amount of time I’m taking?” Mr. Ng recalled thinking to himself. And while looking at the water running down the drain, he got an idea. Continue reading

Roaming the African, Er, Philippine Plains

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Some of the 35 Grévy’s zebras at Calauit Safari Park in the Philippines. – Credit: Alex Frew McMillan


CALAUIT, PHILIPPINES (The International New York Times) — The scene is familiar to anyone who has been on safari in eastern or southern Africa. Giraffes amble from tall tree to tall tree, nibbling away at tiny leaves. Zebras graze the short grass, their heads bent low. There are deer in the distance, and a hawk whirls overhead.

Only this is Southeast Asia, not Africa.

Calauit Safari Park is one of the oddest and least-known attractions of the Philippines, a haven for African wildlife that has operated for close to 40 years. Continue reading