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February 17th, 2009

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Architects MAD have revealed a masterplan created when they invited 11 young architecture practices – including BIG, JDS, Mass Studies, Serie and Sou Fujimoto Architects – to design conceptual projects for Huaxi city centre in Guiyang, China.

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The architects took part in a three-day workshop in Huaxi last summer and each provided an independent design for part of the masterplan. The masterplan was developed by MAD in collaboration with Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute, Studio 6.

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“The city is no longer determined by the leftover logic of the industrial revolution (speed, profit, efficiency) but instead follows the ‘fragile rules’ of nature,” say MAD.

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“This urban experiment is not intended as an idealized urban reality, but as an attempt to push these trends to their purest forms, with all of the benefits and problems that this brings.”

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Here’s some more information from MAD:

YOUNG INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTS COLLABORATE TO
DESIGN HIGH-DENSITY URBAN NATURE IN CHINA

In 2008, MAD organized and invited 11 young international architects to carry out an urban experiment: to design the Huaxi city centre of Guiyang, in South Western China. The architects invited by MAD included: Atelier Manferdini (USA), BIG (DENMARK), Dieguez Fridman (ARGENTINA), EMERGENT/Tom Wiscombe (USA), HouLiang Architecture (CHINA), JDS (DENMARK/BELGIUM), MAD (CHINA), Mass Studies (KOREA), Rojkind Arquitectos (MEXICO), Serie (UK/INDIA), Sou Fujimoto Architects (JAPAN). The masterplan was developed by Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute, Studio 6, together with MAD.

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In the past 15 years, around 10 billion sqm of built space has been created in the urban areas of China. In 20 years time, another 200 to 400 new cities will be built. Until now, the results of this overwhelming urbanization have been defined by high-density, high-speed and low-quality duplication: the urban space is meaningless, crowded and soulless. Below: Atelier Manferdini

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Are we going to continue copying the skyline of Western cities created over a hundred years of industrial civilisation? Will Manhattan and Chicago continue to be our model city, even after 15 years of urban construction in China? Is there an alternative future for our cities that lies in the current social condition, where new technologies leave the machine age behind, and where the city increasingly invades the natural space? Based on an Eastern understanding of nature, this joint urban experiment aims to explore whether we can use new technologies and global ideas to reconnect the natural and man-made world.

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The site of Huaxi is famous for its dramatic and beautiful landscape, as well as a diverse mix of minority cultural inhabitants during its history. Its future is defined by the local government’s urban planning as a new urban centre for finance, cultural activities and tourism. MAD brought the young architects together here in the summer of 2008, for a 3-day workshop to create an experimental urban vision for Huaxi. Below: BIG

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Each architect provided a unique design for a single part of the masterplan, based on their own understanding and interpretation of the local natural and cultural elements. The result is a series of organic individual buildings, growing from the natural environment, and working together to produce a compound of diverse urban activities. In this high density urban environment, the limits of urbanization are controlled and set by nature; the buildings take on the dynamic topography of the site, touching the landscape in a more interactive way.

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Generic verticality is replaced by a complex taxonomy of urban activities, defined by a multiplicity of connections, detours and short cuts. The natural and the artificial are fused together, revealing an image of a future architecture. The ecological method here is not just focused on saving energy; rather, the goal is to create a new, balanced urban atmosphere which can evoke the feeling of exploring the natural environment. The city is no longer determined by the leftover logic of the industrial revolution (speed, profit, efficiency) but instead follows the ‘fragile rules’ of nature.

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This collaborative experiment thus provides an alternative, responsive model for the development of the urban centre: a man-made symbiosis, in harmony with nature, in which people are free to develop their own independent urban experience.

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China has become the global laboratory for urbanization, where the logical endpoint of current architectural trends can be seen, and the effects of leaving private developers to create cities can be most keenly felt. This urban experiment is not intended as an idealized urban reality, but as an attempt to push these trends to their purest forms, with all of the benefits and problems that this brings. MAD is aware of, and actively encouraging, the failings and successes of this project. Below: Dieguez Fridman

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Below: Emergent

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Below: HouLiang Architecture

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Below: JDS

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Below: MAD

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Below: Mass Studies

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Below: Rojkind Arquitectos

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Below: Serie

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Below: Sou Fujimoto Architects

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90 Comments

  1. matt Says:

    wow, a bunch of crazy iconic buildings in the middle of nowhere and JDS stacking box…everything seems to be ok in the world

  2. Ruralism Says:

    Oh, nice piece of individual buildings/urban junk!……..better stay in Urban……………
    but Please don’t F*king ruin my great ‘motherland’…….Leave the rural ALONE!…we don’t need ‘inflated urban bubble’!

    ————————————
    “New Ruralism” refers to urbanites who move to rural areas bringing their urban lifestyles with them and thus transforming the rural landsape and culture by imposing their dominant urban/suburban values. By contrast, Radical Ruralism retains an authentical ruralism that maintains an historical connection with rural sensibilities and projects it forward into the future.

    Radical Ruralism is premised on the belief that we need to establish a “dual power” to urban power – state and corporate power. That is, we need to resist the ongoing concentration of power in any non-violent means possible while at the same time creating grass-roots alternatives that incremently hollow out existing oppressive (urban dominated) social institutions and replace them with democratic, self-managed ones.

  3. the ruderalist Says:

    Thorough post! A brilliant visual feast….. models, visuals, diagrams…….have yet to decide about the architecture.

  4. Anonymous Says:

    Wow, beyond impressive…

  5. Cham0152 Says:

    I am so…. tired of seeing work like this. I am all for conceptual architecture, but these projects seem to be designed in less than a hour with little regard for reality. I would expect something better from this group of architects.

  6. NMiller Says:

    in the midst of a global economic/climate crisis… MAD brings you… post-critical Disneyland!!!

    I do like the Mass Studies scheme.

  7. armeyn Says:

    yeah, you’re MAD!
    ( in possitive meaning..)

  8. Milan Says:

    Cool man!

  9. anon Says:

    well isnt this all very cute.

  10. Han Says:

    do other ppl agree if I say it’s such a junk?

  11. pilar Says:

    Most of the projects doesn’t say anything new to the problematic of human scale architecture and high rise.It’s just newly created forms..Mass Studies, JDS and Sou Fujimoto Architects are the better ones…

  12. antonius Says:

    ‘Each architect provided a unique design for a single part of the masterplan, based on their own understanding and interpretation of the local natural and cultural element’

    hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha….

  13. Daniel Says:

    clean simple and to the point.

    these projects make sense.

  14. harry Says:

    look at me! look at me! look at me!

    or: how media attention produces ‘architecture’…

  15. pop Says:

    Generation-X are supercool and smart…

    The Icon is dead…

  16. zetre Says:

    Quite Brasilia,
    not quite that futuristic..

  17. pop Says:

    Generation-X architects are super cool and super smart

    the icon is dead…

  18. lex Says:

    it looks like celibration of disney.

  19. oc Says:

    Hmm..
    Boys are trying to hard to impress.
    Trying to scratch their right ear with left hand.
    Some say it is smart.
    I am not sure.

  20. bob Says:

    BIG is best…

  21. Kuba Says:

    Someone tell them its over.

  22. htn Says:

    in germany we call this “würfelhusten”

  23. t10yb Says:

    how brainless!
    i think it tells a lot about how much substance these offices have – paricularly working on an urban scale – and what they are really up to.

  24. Anon Says:

    What a load of rubbish.

    This is just a collection of poorly choreographed individual buildings. When will Architects realise that good urban design is not about the building as object.

  25. Fidel Says:

    I had seen BIG, JDS, Mad and the others do this kind of architecturalbad joke, but Fujimoto? I had more respect for the guy.
    What a bunch of junk!

  26. davide Says:

    architectural onanism in the countryside
    to me doesn’t give answers but quetions utility and being appropriate

  27. Michael Says:

    Ironic how we live in a world where we are all supposedly connected like one big family, where we are constantly being asked to band together as one and fight poverty, aids, global warming and hunger. Yet, these architects are ignoring each other completely and doing their own piece, without limits, and putting their buildings near each other.

    The site plan is particularly damning, with this lazy fanned arrangement. It is like a parking lot scheme for ego building-cars. One by one, the freak building-cars pull up into their space so the designers can step out and argue over whose is worst. They “collaborate” yet these pieces just conflict and fight amongst one another for attention. The things that could have been done with such a collective of brilliant minds, wasted on silly models that belong on someone’s dining room table.

    May each of these empty shells burn before they can be inhabited. Thank you OMA and CCTV for reinventing the Chinese Firedrill.

  28. haloloop Says:

    Arc is dead. No future.

  29. next step pls Says:

    here you can see the desaster in which temporary architecture might slip in to, the same desaster that all the big car companies have to face now – planning nice and luxurious stuff negating all the existing and upcoming problems…

    they show what they are able to imagine in their own dreamworld, far away from any claim for realisation. they show what nice sculptures they are able to produce, but unluckily its only an utopia of nice forms than an utopia of new architectural approaches concerning given problems like changing work environment, changing climatic environment, changing communication environment, changing life environment not in forms but in organisation!!!

    the first step – creating forms with the advantages of digital design – is done ——————————— do the next step now!!!

  30. h Says:

    I want to say that I hate this but it really seems like just a big exercise so why get all up in arms about it. Some of these seem like they could be nice.

    It’s just having them all together make it a bit ridiculous. Kind of like having steak, lobster, caviar, foie gras and truffles for dinner when you probably can only afford chicken.

  31. Anon Says:

    This is just a collection of poorly choreographed individual buildings. When will Architects realise that good urban design is not about the building as object.

  32. Aaron Says:

    They don’t work well together…
    but some buildings look good been alone.
    Who are Dieguez Fridman?

  33. Fidel Says:

    You guys remember 60’s and 70’s utopian architecture? that was radical, there were ideas. I donæt want to sound as an old fashioned, but this project shows how poor today’s architectural world is. These are the “leading young architects”. Hopeless.

  34. tommi Says:

    feel bit sick if i see these skyline ind’ rural landscape… again, all because the government has a very poor policy ind’ rural area, it allows many towns or so called cities to show off their ambition. i can see some great projects there & not surprise that no architect would refuse such offer when they are being ‘young’.

  35. VIDAL Says:

    What about you, envous readers???
    I wonder what you could make better than these buildings.
    And we have just ideas here, please.

  36. VIDAL Says:

    envious, of course…

  37. playcheckers Says:

    wow i just like the pictures. some serious skills at work here….on the presentation side. but i can’t be bothered to talk about the actual buildings

  38. cornballer Says:

    Having participated in aspects of this project I can quite honestly inform you that all parties involved, (except MAD themselves) are aware of how ridiculous this scheme really is.

  39. Vla Says:

    Welcome to the Zoo!

  40. Yansong Ma Says:

    I am glad those guys did try so hard fooling around with me, this will make my name even bigger.
    Hey, face the reality, I am the star, I can do whatever I want.

  41. AAB Says:

    With all respect to VIDAL’s comment I would like to think that no one here is voicing their opinion regarding this post due to ‘envy’, this would clearly be petty. I also think that it would be even pettier, if not pointless to, start counteracting with so called ‘better idea’ of our own. Not sure much will be achieved with such playground tactics.

    The whole master plan exercise is undoubtedly self indulgent and since it has MAD at the helm then you can be assured that it is also part of a PR exercise as well as an architectural one – they want to create waves and they are succeeding. No one has even hinted that any of these projects will be realized in the near or distant future, so I am not sure where all the hostility is stemmed from, unless many have a chip on their shoulder for MAD for some reason or another – unless the name is rubbing off people. In the end we just need to rest assured that maybe it is MAD that have allowed their name to rub off them just that bit more and we are all a little bit more excitable for it.

  42. davvid Says:

    Cornballer, MAD isn’t aware of how ridiculous these or previously featured projects are? Do they believe that these projects are seriously addressing the needs of Chinese people and the respondsibility of an architect? How much of this is one BIG joke? Is that joke on China or is China in on that joke?

    Do these “ridiculous” projects demonstrate an approach for non-chinese architects. Is the extreme irony a way of dealing with our ethical dilemmas? Do the non-chinese authors of these projects believe this work is leading the profession in any way?

  43. virus Says:

    what’s wrong with these people? Are you crazy!

  44. Tim Says:

    Remember those competitions held as a kid about “who could pee the furthest”? This is the architectural analogy to that. But that doesn’t matter that much, since it’s just a study of schemes of ridiculous formal experiments.

    The real issue at stake here, is, that this passes as a proper urban plan. Putting spectacular buildings together doesn’t necessarily create a decent urban space – or a good place to live. And where’s the discussion about the meaning of the site in the plan? It’s pretending to be built on a tabula rasa, but reality is more complicated than that…

  45. Francis Says:

    Horrible! Seem to see a new TYPE of Disneyland…

  46. stud2851 Says:

    I can confirm cornballers statement;
    but hey, who would say no to an opportunity like this?

    And to antonius: unlike with many other glossy sketch projects
    the architects have actually visited the site.

  47. Han Says:

    it’s such a shame of chinese architects…..

  48. J Says:

    I’m waiting for the new Howard Roark. I’m fed up with these modern Peter Keatings.

  49. martin Says:

    Jesus! Is it a joke? We have a crisis in architecture !!!

  50. h Says:

    Did they get paid for this? If they did, then yes call me envious. As an individual architect (forget the site plan, doesn’t matter it’s not getting built anyway) I’d like to get paid to design just for the sake of an theoretical exercise. There’s nothing wrong with that.

  51. DCV Says:

    JDS’s is the best one, or at least makes sense. I like also MAD’s, Foujimoto, and Dieguez-Friedman’s.

    Honestly I expected more from BIG and MASS, the other’s…

    Can someone explain me the “fragile rules of nature” and how they would work in a city? (sounds like bs)

  52. Min Says:

    To exercise one’s baseless imagination without respect to the history, culture, and need of local people is costy, inhuman, and imperialistic (just because u r a western architecture firm with money?? and some stupid corrupted Chinese officials’ invitation????)

  53. Min Says:

    To exercise one’s wild imagination without respect to the history, culture, environment, and needs of local people is costly, imprudent, and stupid, even more so when the plans look sooooooooooo ugly.

    The Chinese government is just as corrupted and crazy as the architects, for different reasons though, one for power and political record, the other for fame and money.

  54. yrag Says:

    “This urban experiment is not intended as an idealized urban reality, but as an attempt to push these trends to their purest forms, with all of the benefits and problems that this brings.” —MAD

    What kind of statement is that to make in a place that tens of thousands must live?
    ” . . with all of the benefits and problems that this brings.”

    It’s the duty of architects and urban planners to anticipate and do their utmost to prevent the “problem”.

    Ruralism, my sincere condolences.
    If some one or entity made such a blase comment when presenting, I’d throw them off the project!

  55. p Says:

    BIG’s proposal is good

  56. jc Says:

    “China has become the global laboratory for urbanization, where the logical endpoint of current architectural trends can be seen, and the effects of leaving private developers to create cities can be most keenly felt. This urban experiment is not intended as an idealized urban reality, but as an attempt to push these trends to their purest forms, with all of the benefits and problems that this brings. MAD is aware of, and actively encouraging, the failings and successes of this project.” (from the text above)

    a whole bunch of haters on here. instead of complaining about the downfall of architecture as personified by these outrageous designs why not try to think of any of the positives. how about the fact that MAD, as an architecture firm, not as a developer, is able to spearhead this project and allow for something different to be built, and if nothing else a dialogue about different possiblities? how many architecture firms can muster that kind of design and development freedom for themselves and their contemporaries?

    instead of crying foul let’s see a more evolutionary proposal from anybody if you think you have it. let’s see you put the time in to create something with beauty that could alter the way people use space whether it be in a stunning or practical sense.

    step up or shut up.

  57. g22 Says:

    each individual building is nice on its own,
    when they’re combined with the others they create a psychotic mess

  58. SOS Says:

    I think there is no architects would say no to China today. But the question is how to present ‘yes’ to China. What drives these young internation architects to such a obivously naieve masterplan? And all the people who laughed here, if you are invited, will u say, no, i feel shamed to participate?

    I feel pity too, it could be a very interesting project if those 11 ambitious and essential architects could really work together. Obviously, they are too politeness to accept the masterplan, so that they could keep their own territory in this situation. The lifeboat is sinking because the captain is mad and the crews only want to save themselves.

  59. johnny lewis Says:

    I love the sound of a jealous honkey.

    Any commenter here would love to have any of these designs as part of hes/hir local skyline.

  60. LI Says:

    but guizhou is really poor!

  61. james Says:

    if you look at them individually, looks quite good, however looking at it all together..not too impressive. each building looks like they are fighting for attention

  62. aloecho Says:

    I’m dizzy!

  63. Assion Says:

    OMG,this should never come true
    China is not a colony conquered by aliens…not to mention this southwestern city of Guiyang which is the capital of one of the poorest pronvices in China

  64. A.R Says:

    I am agree with the one who critisizes the gathering of all these huge buildings, but individually, any of them seems as a matter of creativity, with breathtaking 3d efforts !!

  65. orlovsky Says:

    Must say this all looks frightfully old-fashioned. It is apparent that absolutely no consideration has been given to the rural context here. It looks like a bunch of egotist’s have been left to play in their own CGI version of reality. I pity the real people who will have to live with this dated ‘vision of the future’.

  66. architeria Says:

    All ugly shapes . i can only commend.

    PLease DON”T ever realise these junk jungle. PLeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease

    CHINA Is NOT for alien experiment. KEEP those ugly shapes in YOUR own country!!!!!!!! send them back to your own countries!!!!

    rest in peace.

  67. jcs_ Says:

    well.good idea .great designer and hard to be real.

  68. Du Cheng Says:

    I agree with Assion, these building don’t belong there but on Mars or some other cold planet. And the same goes for the CCP.

  69. pat j Says:

    I think this looks great, i cant understand why everyone is so negative, really nice creative concepts and beautifully presented

  70. Richie Says:

    I would agree with what seems to be the prevailing sentiment that each of these buildings individually would be impressive if dotted around a cityscape, but having them clustered together in a small area like this creates a kind of nauseous overload and cartoonish architectural theme park.. I will still be very interested to see the built result, in any case.

  71. Partick Bateman Says:

    johnny lewis Says:
    Any commenter here would love to have any of these designs as part of hes/hir local skyline.

    —————————————-

    yes, i would love to walk to the shops through a pseudo-paddy field whilst gazing lovingly across wind blown deserted public spaces at the architectural erections of some ego driven architects.

    architecture is dead… long live landscape.

  72. sid Says:

    I think its a great utopian idea, the best part being the collaboration of architects and designers from a wide spectrum, just imagine the coordination required in creating a vision which defines so many different creative endeavors, i think this is prolific without any stararchitects.
    it should be celebrated, i hope something liek this can be realised someday

  73. Du Cheng Says:

    Actually I dont know anything about modern architecture so I am not really in the position to judge it as such. My apology to the creator of it. It may be very good, but I personally prefer the architecture of ancient China. It would really be an invention if such (ancient) beauty could be applied in a more practical manner.

    But I do think that this style of architecture is not (as it claims) according nature, at least not in accordance with the nature of the Chinese people. Furthermore it is kind of weird to have such outer hightech demonstrated while the basic living conditions and dignity of too many Chinese people is far below zero and repressed. Isnt it? This is is the main reason why I react negative to this project..

  74. zebra pl3co Says:

    I really like the background, those montains looks really cool and beautiful. Now if only there wasn’t so much garbage concrete and glass junks obstructing the view, it would’ve been absolutely beautiful looking at that mountain scape.
    Honestly, in my view, this project just show how much these companies didn’t get it. They are completely out of touch with the land. They are so centre in their own garbage concrete that they are oblivious to their surounding landscape. Just complete garbage. They all hurt my eyes when I look at them. It just shows how little you respect your land.
    The only one worth looking into is the MAD Studies. But even this one, there too much concrete, you need more green to blend in with the land.

  75. dubai Says:

    way too much money… would they be interested in buying sub-prime CDOs instead? We can offer them *lots* of those! :D

  76. Juampi Z Says:

    Dieguez-Fridman are one of the best young arquitectects y Argentina. please visit your website… they have a lot of great work… much more than this building. It’s a shame because they are really good! (by the way, I’m from Argentina)

  77. Will Lewis Says:

    Damn those efficient Manhattan and Chicago skylines! The people demand they should be replaced by wasteful, less sound designs!

  78. methodlab Says:

    it’s amazing that for many posts here the same arrogance you chastise, is the same you express in your opinions. clearly this is a conceptual piece to open further dialog elsewhere… some being purely form and some exploring new ideas of occupying space and it should be left at that

  79. choadbag Says:

    Ebenezer Howards garden city, with added phallus.

    crack cocaine… always a bad idea

  80. Michael Says:

    methodlab,
    Clearly the experiment is not panning out to public opinion. They explored, we rejected. While we respect the involved firms, this “study” or “game” will end in failure.

  81. Scott Says:

    “we rejected”
    who are you?
    an mediocre architecture student?
    get a grip

  82. SOS Says:

    # methodlab Says:
    February 19th, 2009 at 1:52 am

    it’s amazing that for many posts here the same arrogance you chastise, is the same you express in your opinions. clearly this is a conceptual piece to open further dialog elsewhere… some being purely form and some exploring new ideas of occupying space and it should be left at that

    —–the only real comment I saw in this post

  83. Focaccia Says:

    This ‘masterplan’ is obsolete the moment the schematic design is out.

    Considering that the design workshop took place last summer, the proposal is not really as ‘visionary’ or ‘utopic’ the participants or its promoters made it out to be. It is just one of the many architectural ‘follies’ in the same vein as those in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and in the same league of numerous object-buildings that has mushroomed in East and South Asia in the recent decade, that do not contribute meaningfully to the rest of the city and the man in the street, or the cultural and natural heritage of the context. There is no inkling of the resources that these energy guzzling developments would consume – the sky is the limit when it comes to greed and conflated egos of developers, planners and architects.

    These are ‘memorials’ to the crazy days of wildly ballooning financial and property markets, before the bubble burst in Sept 2008, plunging the world into the Great Depression of the 21st century.

    In an ironic way, one consolation out of our current crisis is that many of these jobs in the Middle East and overheated economies elsewhere have since been shelved or aborted. Perhaps this is a timely opportunity for us to go back to the drafting table to reflect upon how to create our future cities in a responsible, ethical and sustainable manner.

  84. Jelle Says:

    If I see this, I’d like to say that the ‘generic’ has more qualities.

  85. tokyo_kenchiku Says:

    The ammount of minless bitching on this page sickens me.
    Almost nobody on this page has made any sort of real critique of the work. NOBODY GIVE A DICK IF YOU ‘Don’t like it’ or ‘dont get it’.

    Get off your high-horse, people. You are all so quick to condimn designed buildings because they are “Object Buildings”….Without ever actually looking into the ideas behind the project. To me, it is YOU who have objectified the buildings.
    The ideas here are very valid, and I am thankful that at least someone is taking a chance and making a move towards the future…

  86. fitty Says:

    all you guys on dezeen are pathetic. All you guys care if it looks good, or if its ugly.

    thats not what architecture is about.

    continue worshipping your zaha hadid’s and libeskind’s

  87. zator Says:

    cut them hands offfff!

  88. SYED HASAN NASIR Says:

    Ix q’yt intresting to see it! I hope to see them in future and I believe that it would be presented by them very soon. but watever the effort behind even if it is imaginations, I think the reality would be depend upon those imaginitions!

  89. CPH Says:

    BIGs project is fantastic. Keep an eye on the project leader Niels Lund Petersen, who designed it. He is extremely talented, and just opened his own office…

  90. arjun Says:

    im pretty sure most of these guys realised the whole scheme was a parody, and if they did not, then im truly terrified.

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