Hong Kong S.A.R., China

Three continents are here united: Asia, South America, and Europe. From Asia, comes the customer. From South America, comes the potato. From Europe, comes the culinary stereotype. [2011]

Hong Kong S.A.R., China

At the moment, he's dealing with inventory, not customers. He doesn't have to be at his best, his friendliest, his smiliest. He doesn't have to anticipate the next move or the next word from a potential buyer. So, even though his muscles are working, his mind goes wandering off. In his world of work, he has created a world of escape. [2011]

Hong Kong S.A.R., China

Suburbs are simply not urban: That's why we call them SUBurbs. Real cities are very urban: mixed-use developments at the mega-scale where you can work, play, and shop without wheels of your own. In places like Hong Kong, you don't need lots of house space because you have the whole city under foot. [2011]

Berkeley, California, USA

Berkeley's bell tower is not the only one on a university campus, but it is one of the most famous. It was built to be a symbol of "the university's lofty vision." This year marks the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the bells from a Massachusetts foundry. [2005]

Covington, Kentucky, USA

Covington decided to celebrate its German heritage by building a bell-cum-clock tower in medieval Saxon style. It comes complete with an hourly puppet reenactment of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a tale widely popularized by the brothers Grimm. First, his hypnotic tunes led away the rats, then it led away the children. [2016]

Navarre, Florida, USA

Because they pop up everywhere today, most Americans probably think that all Indians carved totem poles for their villages. In fact, however, these monumental sculptures are a contribution of the tribes of the Pacific realm stretching from northern California to Alaska (far from panhandle Florida!). Totem poles served as aides memoires and assists in story-telling. [2017]

Jogjakarta, Indonesia

There must be a survival advantage to skin art. When the 5000 year old "iceman" was discovered in the Alps, he had tattoos all over his body. Today, tattoos are just as popular, even on the other side of the planet. This one looks very Javanese. [2016]