Chinese company Xiaomi, perhaps best known for its smartphones, has introduced a new GoPro competitor called the Yi Action Camera. This new action camera will only be sold inside of China for the equivalent of approximately $ 64 USD (399 CNY); the company doesn’t, as of now, have plans to sell it elsewhere. This still poses a problem for GoPro, however, which has recently been looking to expand into the Chinese market. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
Sky bridges are a common sight in many cities, but are generally used to create a semi-public pathway from one building to the next, not to illicitly join two private highrise units in midair.
In Nanning, China, one resident apparently purchased two apartment units situated nearly across from (and facing) one another with a novel plan in mind: connect them via a slightly-sloped extension to expand his interior space. As a local paper reports, the raised structure is raising concerns for pedestrians passing below.
The makeshift metal-roofed-and-clad addition is supported by a system of somewhat rickety-looking steel trusses forming a spaceframe below – given their elevation (and lack of planning permission), it is unclear whether these will survive natural disasters like serious storms or earthquakes.
It also remains uncertain how this development got so far in the first place, but given other precedents in the region (like the illegal ooftop penthouse mountain shown above) this kind of rogue building project is not entirely shocking.
Over six years, one dedicated man has constructed his dream house, complete with boulders, trees, gardens, pools and ponds. It is the kind of luxury home you …
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Think all condos and townhouses have to be plain, boring boxes? Think again. These unusual condos and townhouses redefine urban living spaces.
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The man who built his very own luxury mountain palace atop a condo tower in China – illegally – is hardly alone in his endeavors. A Chinese …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
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[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]
Slated to cost over $ 25 billion and take 5 years to complete, this incredible proposal starts a with a living sphere that spans over 1,500 feet below the surface of the ocean.
Designed by the Shimizu Corp’s, the spherical portion of the so-called Ocean Spiral forms a residential and commercial core from which a winding path spirals 9 further miles into the deep, ultimately terminating at the ocean floor.
Occupants would live and work both in triangular neighborhoods along the periphery as well as within a tapering, hourglass-shaped, skyscraper-like segment stretching up from the bottom to the top of the sphere’s center.
The ‘Earth Factory’ portion of the project below is set to use generate eco-friendly energy from temperature differentials and organically-driven chemical conversion processes.
For anyone wondering just when they can expect this marvel to materialize: its would-be creators concede the technology is just not in place yet to make it a reality, but hope and presume it will be soon.
Who hasn’t imagined living on their very own floating paradise? But imagine you are not just on a ship, but floating in a city alongside … other cities!
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From 3D-printed towers of sand to garbage-powered architecture of the seas, these eVolo Skyscraper Competition entries push the envelope in every possible …
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Like a speculative fiction novelist, Margot Krasojevic creates fantastical work that manages to combine real design challenges of our times with futuristic …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]
After years of both importing famous designers and copying strange structures from abroad, Xi Jinping, the leader of China’s Communist Party has declared an end to offbeat construction projects going forward. Translated from a two-hour speech on the subject, he was recently quoted as saying: “No more weird architecture.” As yet, it remains unclear whether this is a statement of official policy direction or a tacit warning to developers to play it safe stylistically and work within more conventional cultural styles and typologies.
Iconic buildings in the country have been coming under attack for quite some time, but the phallic look of the 500-foot headquarters of the Chinese state newspaper, the People’s Daily, sparked particular outrage, likely leading to his more vocal objection. Crasser comparisons aside, various spheres, donuts and other shaped deemed odd by the party leader have also been critiqued both domestically and on the international social web.
Other designs prompting problems for the government in the press include the CCTV headquarters in Beijing by Rem Koolhaas. Still, the theme of genitalia shape comparisons in paritcular, as in the case of the bridges (above) in Chongqing, have caused state media to start censoring search results related to some projects. They are also not fans of advertising their surreal replicas or ghost cities, also unusual byproducts of the recent construction boom. There may be a larger political message at work as well – China’s relatively recent new leadership has been cracking down on decadence and corruption in various other forms.
Speaking recently, Xi maintained that “Fine art works should be like sunshine from the blue sky and the breeze in spring that will inspire minds, warm hearts, cultivate taste and clean up undesirable work styles.” Sadly for some, his response comes at a time when architecture in China is also drawing a great deal of positive attention, some copycat scandals aside.
First it was a small town in Austria, copied in exacting detail and replicated in China. Now: a complex by a famous architect that may be done before the …
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The man who built his very own luxury mountain palace atop a condo tower in China – illegally – is hardly alone in his endeavors. A Chinese …
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Rotterdam’s MVRDV, a team of 50 architects, has a sustainable vision for the future with stunning distinctive designs that seek to make cities more livable.
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
Using recycled construction waste and rapid prototyping processes, a Chinese company is showing off how 3D printing technologies can be applied to building at astonishing new speeds and scales. More specifically: Winsun New Materials used a series large 3D printers to frame up 10 houses in 24 hours with a skeleton crew of builders.
These scaled-up printers mimic the additive approach their smaller plastic-extruding cousins, but deploy a mixture of glass fiber and scrap concrete instead.
The function-first walls of these homes are designed to provide shelter via robust solid surfaces and structural support, all while minimizing materials. Built-in truss shapes (with spaces in between) are made to leave calculated gaps for the later insertion of plumbing, electrical, passive and active heading and cooling systems.
In this initial run, the resulting prefab frameworks for ten residential structures were assembled in less than 24 hours and for just a few thousand dollars a piece. Securely enclosed by a small crew of builders, the weather-proof shells are then ready to be finished by other teams.
Given the pace of urbanization and construction within the country, it seems apt that innovators from China would be pushing limits like these, hopefully with more (and similarly eco-friendly) innovations yet to come.
A basic earthen structure is formed and finished by traditional clay-firing processes – like pottery on a massive scale to build abodes for long-term desert …
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From a location-independent home that looks like a spider to a cargo container that unfolds into a residence, these prefabs are ultra-portable and modern.
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Over six years, one dedicated man has constructed his dream house, complete with boulders, trees, gardens, pools and ponds. It is the kind of luxury home you …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
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The Nikon D600 had a rocky introduction in 2012, with countless users noting that the camera often produces images with dust/oil spots. Nowhere though is the D600 having as rough a time as China, were the government has issued an order to Nikon to stop selling the D600 entirely following an investigative report on CCT (China Central Television) that captured dealers trying to avoid refunding money to angry customers. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]
The man who built his very own luxury mountain palace atop a condo tower in China – illegally – is hardly alone in his endeavors. A Chinese microblogger spotted what looks like another unsanctioned resort on the roof of a 21-story luxury apartment complex in Shenzhen, complete with lush landscaping and a temple.
While it’s clear that the stone penthouse was built without permission, this particular rooftop paradise is shrouded in mystery. It has been situated on top of the apartment building for at least three years, but nobody knows who it belongs to, or why it appears to be under such tight security, including cameras, guard dogs and a fingerprint scanner.
A video taken from a helicopter gives us a glimpse at the complex, which appears to include gardens and a pond as well as the gold-tiled temple itself. Tenants fear the suspected illegal construction could jeopardize the structural integrity of the entire building. Neighbors report that golden sheets of joss paper, which is burned to honor ancestors, occasionally floats down from the temple’s perch, leading them to believe it’s used for traditional Chinese religious practices.
According to the South China Morning Post, a local property owner told reporters that the person responsible for the temple might be the director of Nanshan district’s Residential Property Management Office, a man named Xiong. “We once had a meeting [regarding the temple] and required it to be demolished. We put up notifications. But [Xiong] installed a security door and refused to let demolition people near [the structure.] The [problem] has still yet to be resolved.”
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[ By Delana in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
On any given day in Paris, you might see hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists in the streets. They go in and out of shops, snap pictures next to landmarks, stare in wonder at the opulent architecture. But over 5500 miles away, there is another Paris – a comparative ghost town where the streets stand nearly empty.
Construction on Tianducheng, in China’s Zhejiang district, began in 2007. It was meant to be a luxurious gated community resembling Paris in every way possible. The highlight of the town is its 354-foot replica of the Eiffel tower, but plenty of Paris’ other landmarks have been faithfully recreated here.
There is a major incongruity between one’s expectations for a “little Paris” and what you will actually see in Tianducheng. The streets are, for the most part, entirely empty. There are no throngs of tourists or business people rushing off to their offices. There is a lot of quiet, and there is a fair amount of traditional Chinese culture, seemingly completely out of place in the French surroundings.
The development was built to house 100,000 people and to draw rural families into a bustling metropolitan area. As of 2007, (the last time the population was counted), only 2,000 souls inhabited the gated compound. The population seems to be dwindling, leading local media to refer to Tianducheng as a “ghost town.”
It may seem odd to build a replica of a famous city in a different country, but the developers were working on the idea that Paris was seen as a romantic destination. They felt that Chinese people would want to live in this faux-European environment with its stately townhouses and wide-open courtyards. Several other Western-style towns and communities have been built in China around this idea.
At least in Tianducheng, you are more likely to see empty streets and traditional Chinese agricultural life than the distinctly Parisian pastimes of shopping, strolling, and sipping wine on a restaurant patio. Daily life in the town is documented in the video above.
Work is still in progress in the compound; its expected completion date is in 2015. So the Paris of the East, it turns out, isn’t quite a ghost town – it hasn’t had the time to develop ghosts just yet. In a few years, this now-quiet development could very well be chock full of Chinese residents ready to begin their European-style lives. (Images via: Business Insider and video by Caspar Stracke)
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
Over six years, one dedicated man has constructed his dream house, complete with boulders, trees, gardens, pools and ponds. It is the kind of luxury home you might expect expect to set into the side of an actual mountain … rather than perched atop an urban apartment building.
The Daily Mail reports that Chinese eccentric Zhang Lin slowly assembled this structure in Beijing despite disruptions and dangers caused to those residents below, apparently without planning permission and in defiance of zoning laws (not to mention common sense). The many tons of material required were hauled up the building, then transformed into a faux mountaintop. In turn, the industrious top-floor owner tucked his unique private penthouse retreat into the resulting rock face.
A number of residents have complained about the noise from construction, and one has experienced flooding, either from fake mountain pools and ponds above their place, broken drainage due to displaced infrastructure, or perhaps both.
Meanwhile, the penthouse – originally slated to be a small shack added to the top – has sprawled in all kinds of creative and (to those below, at least) unexpected ways. There are various outdoor decks, viewing platforms and winding paths that make their way through and around the stone mountaintop and its outgrowths of greenery.
And what comes next? Well, no one in the city has stopped the project so far, but as complaints mount from other residents, and as the weight loaded on the roof grows, one has to wonder what will happen first: government intervention or a tragic structural collapse.
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[ By Steve in Design & Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]
Intended for low-cost mass production but displaying a wide variety of clever conceptual designs, these 12 Chinese desk fans may blow but they sure don’t suck.
(images via: PCK)
That’s exactly what the box reads, “Funny and Playful USB Airplane Clip Fan”, though whether this fan is actually funny and/or playful depends on both the sensibilities of the purchaser and how they’re going to use the fan. Most regular folks will simply clip it on their monitor screens and flip the ON switch mounted on the bottom… it may not get you hot but funny, playful or not it will definitely keep you cool.
(image via: PCK)
The Funny and Playful USB Airplane Clip Fan comes in any one of three pastel tints: mint green, pale pink or ivory white. Just plug the USB cable into the plane’s faux exhaust pipe – nice touch there – and you’re good to go on one more chilling mission!
(images via: Creative Coaching)
Wee paws for stationary cool-ification! The eDON USB “Bi-Cycle” fan is a delight for dog-lovers or simply those sweltering through the dog days of summer. Just press the leftmost toe pad to get the breeze flowing, and never mind the fact that the wind caressing your face emanates from a foot just a foot away. Available in golden brown, pastel pink, lime green or sky blue, the design of this USB-powered fan demands applause… though unfortunately the “with applause” copy at the seller’s website promises the same in vain.
(images via: Phone People)
That’s W ENNN B C!… less the W. The NBC Microphone-Shaped USB Desktop Fan is one of a series of four similar fans bearing the (owner applied) decal logos of NBC, China’s CCTV, Hello Kitty, and Doraemon. Are these popular logos officially licensed by the copyright holders? We’re guessing they aren’t but you won’t catch us, er, broadcasting our suspicions.
(image via: Nine Cylinder Housing)
Legal niceties aside, the fan’s design is rather ingenious: users hold the fan’s body as if it were a microphone, then remove the protective fan blade cap and flip the switch to ON. Lest any late night talk show host wannabees feel the need to bend it like Fallon, be advised you’re just spittin’ in the wind.
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