ISSUE NO. 47

A July Issue

There’s something to be said for the kind of lightness that isn’t loud—the kind that lives in small shifts: softened thoughts, and the quiet act of releasing what no longer needs to be carried. Not everything needs to be wrestled with; some things become clearer when given space, not answers.

I realize I curated this week’s issue around that same lightness—in how a room holds the sun, in the way memory is preserved without weight, in portraits that feel both still and full—a foundation of clarity.

ARCHITECTURALLY CURIOUS

Heavy on Light

“EARTH” is a circular villa shaped to follow the slope of the coastal site. The white, hand-finished exterior helps reflect sunlight and reduce heat, while the wide terrace provides open views of the ocean and surrounding landscape. Large glass panels connect indoor spaces to the outdoors, making the transition between inside and outside feel natural. The building’s curve creates both privacy and openness, depending on your position.

Light, Framing, and Function

Inside the villa, each space is designed with a clear purpose and a strong connection to the environment. The reading nook is oriented toward the sea, using a single piece of glazing to bring in light and frame the horizon. Bookshelves are angled to reduce glare and catch soft daylight throughout the day. The materials are minimal and warm—plaster, wood, and stone—supporting the view rather than distracting from it.

A Room Designed by Light

In the sauna, light filters through a water basin above the ceiling, casting patterns across the curved wooden walls. The benches are built in gentle tiers that follow the shape of the room, offering different seating levels and temperatures. The materials are designed to perform: wood for warmth and insulation, stone for heat retention, and natural light for atmosphere. Every element supports both comfort and simplicity.

GLOBAL GLIMPSE

Singapore’s Sunset Way

The moment you step inside Sunset Way, your eyes land on a wall of hand-cut bocee limestone—each slab thick with texture, warm in tone, and impossibly grounding. The stone flows from interior to exterior, blurring where the house ends and the tropical air begins. A plush, cloud-colored sectional rests nearby, accented with soft textiles and traditional pottery. Every material feels like a quiet nod to comfort without excess.

A Courtyard for All Seasons

In the heart of the home, a courtyard stretches vertically across three floors, anchored by a tree that reaches up toward the sky. Smooth black stepping stones are tucked into beds of grey pebbles, creating a path that’s more meditative than practical. Indoor plants echo the lushness of the neighboring park, making the entire space feel like an extension of the landscape. It’s a layout designed for flexibility, perfect for a growing family across generations.

Light as a Design Tool

Above it all, a massive skylight pours natural light across a floating staircase edged in glass and wood. As the sun shifts, it paints soft shadows against the clean walls, adding quiet drama to every surface. The zigzag of the steps mirrors the foliage below, a subtle rhythm between built and grown forms. This is Singaporean living at its most refined: tropical, tactile, and deeply connected to nature.

VISUAL COMFORT

Memory in Monochrome

For Alick Phiri, photography wasn’t just about capturing faces—it was about framing dignity. In this portrait, taken outside his Kwacha Photo Studio in Kanyama, Lusaka, the backdrop may be weathered, but the subjects are anything but. A mother holds her infant with calm assurance, while her eldest stands firm beside her, their matching poise suggesting care, pride, and preparation. Phiri didn’t ask people to perform—he gave them a moment to be seen as they were.

Function Hidden in Plain Sight

Phiri’s work makes you look twice. A woman crouches casually yet deliberately—her gaze quiet, almost defiant, her dress a Ankara fabric. This is where Phiri’s eye is most alive: he knew how to let people hold space for themselves.

His portraits reject spectacle, offering instead a design language grounded in pattern, posture, and personal agency

Raised under colonial limitations and trained by Indian-Zambian photographer Mr. Patel, Phiri turned photography into a personal liberation. With no access to color processing, he built a rich black-and-white archive that chronicled everyday life with care and clarity.

His lens saw beyond surface—capturing social texture, familial rituals, and the unspoken codes of Zambian identity. Today, through his debut exhibition I’ll Be Your Mirror, we’re invited to see Lusaka not just as it was, but through the eyes of someone who insisted it was worth remembering.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

What I'm Listening to in July

And maybe that’s the evolution we rarely name: not becoming someone new, but returning to ourselves with less to prove—I’ll see you next week, my friend.

Warmly,
/shane