The walled city sculpture on a wooden desk beside a keyboard and a coffee mug

Kowloon Walled City

165 towers, packed wall to wall into one block for your desk.

Kowloon, after dark

A city of lit windows, and in the middle of it one block that grew in on itself, tower against tower. Scroll, and the day comes up on it.

165 towers, one block

Tenements 8 to 16 storeys tall, packed wall to wall on a thin base plate, all in one dark bronze-grey.

The road front

Along the front the towers follow the curve of the old road as one continuous cliff, and a round tower holds the corner.

The light well

Left of centre the block opens into a deep square well, with a small block standing alone at the bottom of it.

The roofs

Every roof has a parapet and its own water tanks and stair huts. Look down on it and there is a second city up here.

Evening

Under a low lamp the storey lines, recessed windows and balconies throw their own shadows, so the block changes with the light on your desk.

Up close

7.3 × 4.9 × 2.2 in and 10.5 oz: about the footprint of a paperback, and heavy enough to sit where you put it.

The sculpture on a bookshelf beside a row of hardback books in lamp light — On the shelf it holds its own next to the hardbacks, and the lamp finds every window.

Close view over the roofs: parapets, round water tanks and stair huts — I keep finding new roofs. Every one has its own tanks and stair hut.

The sculpture held level in two open hands — It fills two hands, and it is heavier than it looks.

Read it from above

Seen from overhead the block is a map. The road front runs along the bottom edge, and the roofs fill everything else, interrupted by a single deep well.

Top view of the sculpture: a dense grid of roofs with a square light well left of centre and the curved road front along the bottom edge

A: Road front; The front wall bends with the line of the old road, one cliff of windows from end to end.
B: Round corner tower; Where the front meets the side, a round tower turns the corner.
C: Light well; A deep square opening left of centre, with a small block standing inside it.
D: Roof tanks and stair huts; The round shapes are water tanks and the boxes are stair huts, one set to every roof.

Looking down into the light well, towers on every side — Into the well: the towers drop away on every side, and the small block at the bottom only shows from straight above.

In the box: one walled city

1: desk sculpture, 165 towers on one base plate

Size: 7.3 × 4.9 × 2.2 in (wide × deep × tall)
Weight: 10.5 oz
Towers: 165
Height: 8 to 16 storeys
Colour: Dark bronze-grey, one colour throughout
Detail: Storey lines, recessed windows and balconies on every wall; parapet, water tanks and stair huts on every roof
Power: None: no lights, batteries or moving parts

The block from the back corner on a pale ground

Good to know

Does it light up or need power?

No. It is a solid sculpture with no lights, batteries or moving parts. The detail shows through light and shadow, so a desk lamp beside it does the work.

How much room does it take?

It measures 7.3 × 4.9 × 2.2 in and weighs 10.5 oz, about the footprint of a paperback lying flat.

What colour is it?

Dark bronze-grey all over, one colour throughout. There is no paint: the storeys, windows and roofs read through their shadows.

How detailed is it?

There are 165 towers, 8 to 16 storeys tall. Every wall shows storey lines, recessed windows and balconies, and every roof has a parapet with its own water tanks and stair huts.