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Stacked: Cleverly Designed Chinese Hotel Gives Everyone a Unique View

04 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

Despite sharing a tiny footprint of land with other guests at this Chinese hotel, you can practically forget anyone else exists altogether thanks to a clever stacked arrangement that points each level in a different direction. Step out onto your private balcony – located on the roof of the room below – and look out onto the peaceful forest of rural Huang Shan, Anhui Province, China. Designed by Shanghai-based architecture firm Bengo Studio, the Qinyushan Tree House is a beautiful use of space.

A spiral staircase runs up through the center of the hotel, which includes two guest rooms, two bathrooms, one living room, and a ‘landscape room’ located at the top of the building. Each room has its own roof access with a glass railing to avoid interrupting views of the trees.

Elevated off the forest floor, the hotel features curvy volumes fanning out in different directions from the central core, capped on each cantilevered end by floor-to-ceiling windows. Guests ascend an enclosed glass hallway to either walk down into the lowest bedroom and bathroom, or ascend to the upper levels.

Its vertical wooden cladding helps it blend into its natural environment, and the minimalist design is an interesting take on modern treehouse-inspired structures.

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

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DJI’s special Chinese New Year edition Phantom 4 celebrates the Year of the Rooster

05 Jan

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DJI is celebrating the Chinese New Year with a brightly colored, special edition Phantom 4. The drone features bright red body work and propeller blades, which may prove easier to see against a bright sky than the regular white Phantom 4. The drone and controller also feature vivid artwork from designer and illustrator Martin Sati, with a phoenix as the symbolic centerpiece.

Pricing starts at $ 1,199. The special edition drone will only be sold during Chinese New Year, so now’s the time to order one if it strikes your fancy.

n celebration of Chinese New Year, DJI invited renowned illustrator and designer Martin Sati to customize the Phantom 4, adding colors and his imagination to this flagship DJI product. Sati’s design features the phoenix as the centerpiece, a symbol of good fortune and happiness in Chinese mythology. He also drew inspiration from the four basic elements of nature – air, fire, water and earth – and reflected each of these elements in his design.

The Phantom 4 Chinese New Year Edition houses the same on-board intelligence that make piloting and shooting great shots simple through features like its Obstacle Sensing System, ActiveTrack and TapFly functionality. With 4K video recording, 3-axis camera stabilization, advanced computer vision and sensing technology, aerial imaging has never been so easy. The Phantom 4 also has DJI’s signature Lightbridge video transmission system onboard, allowing users to see what their camera sees in HD and in real-time at a distance up to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). The Phantom 4 can achieve up to 28 minutes of flight time.

The Phantom 4 Chinese New Year Edition’s U.S. retail price is USD1,199 and will be sold exclusively at Apple Stores, DJI Flagship Stores (except Korea), DJI Online Store and Tmall DJI Store. The product will start shipping from January 23.

For more info, visit: http://store.dji.com/product/phantom-4-chinese-new-year-edition

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Hutong Hostel: Modern Micro-Hotel Squeezes into Historic Chinese Context

13 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

hutong-above

Traditional hutongs found in Beijing wind in upon themselves, organically shaped by the forces around them to create nesting neighborhoods that are cozy and serene. Alleys branch off of larger alleys and even larger streets as visitors make their way deep into the heart of huge city blocks.

modern-hutong-space

This new hostel project by ZAO and Standard Architecture builds on the long tradition of hutongs and measures just 320 square feet. It represents a Brualist/Modernist take on the alley-based architecture of China’s capital.

hutong-street-facing

hutong-shared-living-room

An expansion of previous hutong projects – including a co-living courtyard, library and gallery space – this hostel brings small-scale social housing into the mix.

hutong-brutalist-interior

hutong-bathroom

Guests enter through a semi-public transitional space, much like the branching alleys and courtyards of a normal hutong, then enters a complex of angular architecture forms composed of concrete and glass.

hutong-hostel

hutong-skylights

A series of extruded volumes rise up slightly above the adjacent rooflines to access views, air and light from beyond the compressed confines of the site. The courtyard at the heart of the plan serves to connect it to the neighborhood, acting as a liminal zone for guests and community members alike.

interior-room

hutong-second-floro

“The result is an architectural operation that brings back the courtyard as a generator of the program, as it activates the building by creating a direct relationship with its urban context,” say the architects.

[ By WebUrbanist in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

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Glitch Cities: Buildings Mysteriously Deleted from Chinese ‘Street View’

10 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

deleted buildings

All kinds of architecture is being inexplicably erased from the Baidu Total View image database (analogous to Google Street View) … and whoever is behind it is doing an oddly haphazard job of removing things.

810 (4)

Freelance photographer Jonathan Browning encountered this mystery a few years ago. He was searching for locations on Total View and discovered a half-erased bridge near some sooty factories and industrial complexes.

810

A resident of Shanghai, Browning dug deeper and found government buildings, prisons and other municipal infrastructure. These semi-deleted structures were all over, partially hidden in hundreds of Chinese cities viewed by hundreds of millions of monthly Total View users.

810 (2)

In some cases, the partial deletions seem intentional – a building might remain with its sign and smoke stacks gone. In other instances, at least some attempt has been made to erase the entire structure. Often, aftereffects of cloning tools and other basic Photoshop-style manipulations are easy to spot in the picture. Since some of these structures are high, many of them have to be edited in dozens of surrounding views, too. Even normal-sized, street-facing buildings often show up in a few different shots.

810 (1)

Like Google Street view, the images found on Baidu are assembled from shots taken from cars (or persons) with mounted cameras. Also like their international counterpart, Total View removes some sensitive details, but the removals in this case don’t add up in terms of privacy or national security. If anything, they leave traces and thus highlight areas that people like Browning might find worth exploring.

810 (3)

Of course, Browning had to be careful when driving around and photographing places that someone (corporate or governmental) had decided shouldn’t be on publicly-accessible image maps. In the end, no one seems quite sure what these attempted deletions are all about, and the Chinese government, as usual, isn’t saying a thing (via BldgBlog and Wired).

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

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Takeout Shakeout: 10 Abandoned Chinese Food Restaurants

22 Feb

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_1a
What’s on the menu at these abandoned chinese restaurants? Stereotypical architecture and signs displaying near-racist “oriental” fonts, for starters.

Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to play the race card – countless structures in the orient are more flamboyantly exaggerated than the worst of these over-the-top chinese restaurants. Besides, show us an “ethnic” eatery that DOESN’T lay on the “culture” with a trowel: setting the mood for a foreign-style feast means ya gotta go there.

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_1b

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_1c

That said, chinese restaurants have a tradition of going the extra mile when it comes to cultural embellishment. Take the Floating Restaurant Sea Palace in Gothenburg, Sweden. Moored at the Gullbergskajen docks since 2002, the dragon-headed (and tailed) restaurant soon went bankrupt and was abandoned by its owners.

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_1d

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_1e

After becoming a hangout for homeless people, the City complained and forced the owner, John Wang, to relocate the barge to the comparatively inaccessible Gullbergsvass marsh. Wang states he intends to repair and relaunch the restaurant but as of May 2013, no action had been taken.

Oh Man…

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_3a

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_3b

The good news is that this visually wrong-on-many-levels chinese restaurant in east London, UK is abandoned. The bad news is, nobody thought to remove – or at least cover – that distressing sign. OK, we get it, it was “the olden days” (note “Peking”) and nobody batted an eyelash but puh-lease… we expected better of you, Hackney. Flickr user Fat Les (bellaphon) snapped the offensive ex-eatery on March 17th of 2010 while runABC posted an artistically decorated version that ignored that glaring eyesore of a sign.

No JOY in Dublin

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_2d

Flickr user William Murphy (infomatique) snapped the abandoned JOY Oriental Take Away restaurant on January 30th of 2010, then again a year later, and returned for yet another shot in July of 2011. It would seem restaurant turnaround in Dublin, Ireland isn’t exactly brisk. What a Seamus.

Remember the Mein

abandoned_chinese_restaurant_4a

Who can say when the above uber-decrepit Sun Sun Chow Mein restaurant on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in NYC’s Harlem closed… can anyone living even recall eating there? In any case, Flickr user Margie & James snapped this warts-and-all photo of the abandoned business way back in 2001 – it was demolished sometime after 2004.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Takeout Shakeout 10 Abandoned Chinese Food Restaurants

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Chinese Skywalk: World’s Longest Glass Bridge Spans Two Cliffs

07 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

glass suspension bridge

If you thought Twin Peaks was suspenseful, test your mettle on the new glass-bottomed Brave Man’s Bridge connecting two cliffs in the Hunan province of China and spanning nearly 1,000 feet.

glass panel bridge below

glass china walkway

Located in the Shiniuzhai National Geological Park (images by Sina), the bridge employees a new type of glass 25 times stronger than the ordinary variety, achieving its structural purpose despite being just 1 inch thick.

glass kneeling walks

glass bridge above

Framed in steel, the converted bridge previously held wooden walking platforms, but to compete with the rise of glass walkways around the world these were swapped out for glass equivalents.

glass park

glass bridge side

While there are other similarly glass-bottomed bridges arcing out over canyons or crossing natural expanses, this is the longest glass suspension bridge to date. Its engineers have assured the public that it is safe, even if feisty tourists jump on the panels.

[ By WebUrbanist in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

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Modular Record: 3D-Printed Chinese Villa Assembled in 3 Hours

29 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

3d printed home fast

In this latest attempt at one-upmanship in the realm of rapid construction, a company in China has built a two-story villa from six modules, putting the 3D-printed pieces together on site with conventional equipment in under three hours.

3d printed villa design

In a country already boasting the world’s first 3D-printed apartment complex and 10 3D-printed houses assembled in a single day from scrap materials, this latest contender is located in the historical city of Xi’an. A product of the ZhuoDa group, the building boasts robust earthquake-proof construction and impressive affordability thanks in part to cost savings associated with the methods employed (around $ 40-50 per square foot). 90% of the construction is completed off-site, the components then shipped by truck to their destination.

3d printed home interior

Part of the strength of the structure is tied to its modular construction – each of the 6 constituent architectural subunits is structurally independent, able to survive stress and shifts relative to the whole.

3d printed house assembly

The core material used in the 3D-printing process has been kept secret, but the company has indicated this new custom composite is sourced from industrial and agricultural waste, is fireproof and waterproof, and is free from harmful substances such as formaldehyde, ammonia, and radon.

3d home rapid build

On the day of the build, the living room was put together, then the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, all on the first floor. Next, the terrace, bedroom and utility rooms on the second floor were assembled. The result is a rapid construction process that reduces air and noise pollution for neighbors.

3d printed speed house

A prefabrication time of just 10 days for the core modules also compares favorably with typical on-site construction times ranging up to 6 months for a structure of comparable size, quality and durability (the estimated lifespan of the structures is 150 years). Variable finished looks will allow homebuyers to customize their individual houses, selecting mixtures for surfaces that simulate the textures and appearance of exotic and expensive materials including jade, wood, granite or marble.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Gone Green: Vacant 50 Years, Chinese Village Conquered by Ivy

21 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

green town

Nestled in the hills on a remote island at the mouth of the Yangtze River in China and full of rich foliage, one could imagine this small fishing hamlet to be an idyllic place, at least for nature if not for people – it has been abandoned by humans now for nearly half a century.

green town in mist

green platform balcony stairs

Ivy has become the dominant and defining feature of both the natural and built environments of this place, slowly but surely creeping over sidewalks and streets, up walls and roofs, and ultimately taking over the town.

green town deserted buildings

In some cases, collapsed portions of structures have made it all the more easy for the greenery to work its way over the sides of buildings and into their empty floors.

green overgrown alleyway path

Set on Gouqi Island, one of hundreds of small islands in the area, the Houtou Wan Village was a victim of changing times and circumstances, a combination of urbanization and depleted fish populations that drove its inhabitants to seek work elsewhere.

green window glass

Today, it is enjoyed only by visitors who seek it out explicitly, like photographer Jane Qing, chartering boats to travel to its shores and document the decay as well as the rebirth the place is now home to in its second life.

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Landskating: Giant Chinese Landscapes Drawn with Roller Blades

26 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

landskating creative drawing process

Modified inline skates holding pots of black pigment allow this artist to create her huge works (up to 40 feet or more) while rolling around the room, with results that look remarkably like smaller-scale works of hand-drawn calligraphy.

landskating art landscape making

giant calligraphy style drawing

A student at the California College of art, Tian Haisu has dubbed her approach Landskating. She notes that her “whole body is involved” in this unusual process, filling her creations with a unique kind of “power, speed and rhythm.”

landskating artist sketches

giant landskating art work

Her works feature landscapes, plants and architecture, all created by pressing down on giant unrolled sheets of paper deployed after she has sketched out and thought through these larger compositions on small sheets.

giant mountain scene

As with any artistic approach, it took the artist time to learn the medium, executing with her feet rather than her hands in a way that both liberates the creative process but also involves complexities and stylistic impacts that are not always easy to predict or control.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]

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Mini Sky City: 57-Story Chinese Skyscraper Built in 19 Days

29 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

sky city speed

The world’s tallest prefab building has just been constructed at a rate of 3 stories per day, showcasing the power of modular design and industrial prefabrication operating at scale. Located in Changsha, China, the record-breaking building is designed to be connected by sky bridges to a larger Sky City complex yet to be completed.

fast

This first step in the grand scheme is this mixed-use structure featuring 800 apartments and office space for 4,000 workers with a total of over 2,000,000 square feet as well as 19 giant atrium spaces.

Producing many of the component parts in advance in factories, including entire truss systems, saves time and energy on site and also reduces pollution associated with busy construction sites and cast-on-site concrete. Its builders at BSB estimate a reduction in output of carbon dioxide by 12,000 tons thanks to these techniques as well as other environmental benefits, including a decrease in dust and particulates in the air around the building site.

sky city interior

Mini Sky City, as the tower is titled, is to be part of a larger Sky City series of interconnected skyscrapers that will include vertical farming spaces. One of the less-obvious byproducts of building at such speeds: China is able to effectively rapid-prototype urban design experiments at scale, testing novel strategies for vertical interaction and horizontal integration across structures.

sky city interiors

The country recently saw the successful completion of the world’s first 3D-printed apartment complex as well as the rapid creation of 10 houses 3D-printed from scrap materials put together in just one day.

sky city progress

If you have ever driven past a skyscraper in progress day after day, you will know from experience just how fast this assembly really is compared to industry standards around the world – the precision of parts and management of contractors involved would be staggering in a situation with less-tight coordination as well.

sky city part one

Whether this will all become part of China’s ultimate bust in real estate, the technologies, techniques and principles on display here can and should be studied by architects from around the world.

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Posts Tagged ‘Chinese’

Stacked: Cleverly Designed Chinese Hotel Gives Everyone a Unique View

DJI’s special Chinese New Year edition Phantom 4 celebrates the Year of the Rooster

Hutong Hostel: Modern Micro-Hotel Squeezes into Historic Chinese Context

Glitch Cities: Buildings Mysteriously Deleted from Chinese ‘Street View’