Kerry Chin

NAME a Memory

Sandcastles. I don’t remember much of him but sandcastles always bring back memories of my dad. While my mum hid away from the sun with my brother in her arms (like any wise Asian mom would), I would run towards the shore with Dad, my little bucket, two tiny shovels for digging, and as many brightly coloured moulds that I could carry in my tiny hands. We’d build towers, bridges, igloos, castles complete with swimming pools. Sometimes our castles would crumble, at times they get washed away and a few times they stood tall, mighty and defied gravity. For me, it was testament that you can build, and rebuild even better the second time around; all you need is a little bit of faith and a damn good ratio of water and sand.

NAME a City

Deià. A tiny coastal village in the Serra de Tramuntana which forms the northern ridge of the Spanish island of Mallorca and located north of Valldemossa. Its origins as a settlement date back to prehistoric times, but it was the 8th century when the Moors created a sophisticated irrigation system and gave it the simple name ‘ad daia’ – or ‘the village’. I fell irrevocably in love with its idyllic village, honey-hued stone houses, pretty winding lanes, and very lush Tramuntana backdrop (that I believe radiate a positive healing energy).

NAME a Quote

“Gratitude is wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk.” - Rumi

NAME a Building

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey, France. Designed by William of Volpiano and completed in 1523 in true Romanesque and Gothic style, the abbey is one of the first UNESCO World Heritage sites. It has been protected as an historical French monument in 1862 and its entire site now a UNESCO world heritage site since 1979. Withstanding the assaults of man, time and elements, the abbey is one true tale that’s as old as time.

NAME a Material

Brick. One of the oldest building materials, clay bricks do have an interesting history which dates back to 7000 B.C. when bricks were first made out of mud and clay and simply dried in the sun. For centuries and eras, from castles to towers, brick has been one of the most astonishingly picturesque building material used across the globe. Quoting Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe “Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.”