Kazimiera
09-02-2013, 03:41 AM
Creative Communities: 10 Masterpieces of Urban Housing
http://www.thecoolist.com/housing-design-10-masterpieces-of-urban-community/
UFO Houses of Sanchih
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/UFO-houses_Sanjhih_1.jpg
While these homes in coastal Taiwan were fully grounded, their appearance suggested that they originated in the skies. The UFO Houses of Sanchih were a large community of homes that resembled the shape and iconology of the common flying saucer. These homes were clustered together in the Chinese town of Sanchih, a vacation resort to the north of Taiwan that was constructed in 1971. Sadly, these homes met their fate under the bulldozer of development, having long ago been abandoned– but not before being faithfully documented by flickr.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/UFO-houses_Sanjhih_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/UFO-houses_Sanjhih_2.jpg
Nakagin Capsule Tower
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nakagin-capsule-tower_tokyo_3.jpg
Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower is an amazing feat of urban housing, a prefabricated pod structure designed to house single occupants in serve-all units. Each unit is 8′x12′x7′, including built-in cooking and entertainment systems and a bathroom the size of an aircraft lavatory. While the tower has fallen into a state of disrepair, and its owner community has petitioned to destroy it for a new structure, its architectural and cultural importance has kept it alive against this adversity. While we wouldn’t want to live in one of those pods, a short term stay would be a visit to remember.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nakagin-capsule-tower_tokyo_1.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nakagin-capsule-tower_tokyo_2.jpg
Linked Hybrid City Building, Beijing
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/linked-hybrid-building_beijing_1.jpg
Moving to a more modern timeline and a more massive production, the Linked Hybrid City Building in Beijing, China is a truly amazing work of architecture. This 220,000 square meter complex includes 750 apartment units, a central park space, a hotel, a school, a cinema and retail storefronts. The Linked Hybrid building was completed this year under the architectural direction of Steven Holl Architects. Each separate structure spans over 20 stories and are connected by enclosed sky bridges. The goal of the Linked Hybrid Building was to create a city within a city, a stand-alone community with green space and green sensibility. So green, in fact, that it aims for a LEED Gold certification with a geothermal power system built below the structure’s frame.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/linked-hybrid-building_beijing_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/linked-hybrid-building_beijing_2.jpg
Mountain Dwellings, Copenhagen
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mountain-dwellings_copenhagen_4.jpg
Traveling next to Copenhagen, Denmark, this 10-story cascade of homes sits on a hillside near the outskirts of the city. BIG Architects devised this structure to give its inhabitants the feeling of both community and privacy at the same time. Each one of the building’s 80 units has its own rear yard with grass and vegetation, but privacy fences that separate one from another. Due to the building’s slope, the neighbor above cannot see into the unit below and vice versa. The result is the privacy of suburban life with the all the benefits of community living, just a short trip from downtown Copenhagen.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mountain-dwellings_copenhagen_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mountain-dwellings_copenhagen_2.jpg
Hakka Houses of Tulou Province, China
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hakka-houses_fujian-province_1.jpg
These amazing 12th century housing structures are still in use today in the Tulou Province of China. “Hakka Houses“, as they are commonly referred, hold up to 800 people at a time, an early example of the “city within a city” system. Also referred to as “Fujian Tulou”, these structures were designed as small-scale castles to protect their inhabitants from bandits that roamed the countryside. Their wood and iron gate doors kept the bandits from entering, while their six foot earthen walls were nearly impenetrable. The men in these Hakka Houses could then easily defend their families by using the gun holes at roof level to pick off their predators from above.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hakka-houses_fujian-province_2.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hakka-houses_fujian-province_3.jpg
Marina City, Chicago
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/marina-city_chicago_1.jpg
The Marina City towers in Chicago, Illinois are amongst the city’s most recognizable architectural monuments. These twin, 65-story residential towers stand tall upon the Chicago River, including parking garages, shops and a marina at river level. Marina City has been featured in numerous feature films and TV shows, both up-close and in panning background shots. While living in an architectural gem by Bertrand Goldberg may be a privilege, a studio apartment in these towers can be rented for just $850 a month, not far from the average for this zip code.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/marina-city_chicago_2.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/marina-city_chicago_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/housing-design-10-masterpieces-of-urban-community/
UFO Houses of Sanchih
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/UFO-houses_Sanjhih_1.jpg
While these homes in coastal Taiwan were fully grounded, their appearance suggested that they originated in the skies. The UFO Houses of Sanchih were a large community of homes that resembled the shape and iconology of the common flying saucer. These homes were clustered together in the Chinese town of Sanchih, a vacation resort to the north of Taiwan that was constructed in 1971. Sadly, these homes met their fate under the bulldozer of development, having long ago been abandoned– but not before being faithfully documented by flickr.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/UFO-houses_Sanjhih_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/UFO-houses_Sanjhih_2.jpg
Nakagin Capsule Tower
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nakagin-capsule-tower_tokyo_3.jpg
Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower is an amazing feat of urban housing, a prefabricated pod structure designed to house single occupants in serve-all units. Each unit is 8′x12′x7′, including built-in cooking and entertainment systems and a bathroom the size of an aircraft lavatory. While the tower has fallen into a state of disrepair, and its owner community has petitioned to destroy it for a new structure, its architectural and cultural importance has kept it alive against this adversity. While we wouldn’t want to live in one of those pods, a short term stay would be a visit to remember.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nakagin-capsule-tower_tokyo_1.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nakagin-capsule-tower_tokyo_2.jpg
Linked Hybrid City Building, Beijing
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/linked-hybrid-building_beijing_1.jpg
Moving to a more modern timeline and a more massive production, the Linked Hybrid City Building in Beijing, China is a truly amazing work of architecture. This 220,000 square meter complex includes 750 apartment units, a central park space, a hotel, a school, a cinema and retail storefronts. The Linked Hybrid building was completed this year under the architectural direction of Steven Holl Architects. Each separate structure spans over 20 stories and are connected by enclosed sky bridges. The goal of the Linked Hybrid Building was to create a city within a city, a stand-alone community with green space and green sensibility. So green, in fact, that it aims for a LEED Gold certification with a geothermal power system built below the structure’s frame.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/linked-hybrid-building_beijing_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/linked-hybrid-building_beijing_2.jpg
Mountain Dwellings, Copenhagen
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mountain-dwellings_copenhagen_4.jpg
Traveling next to Copenhagen, Denmark, this 10-story cascade of homes sits on a hillside near the outskirts of the city. BIG Architects devised this structure to give its inhabitants the feeling of both community and privacy at the same time. Each one of the building’s 80 units has its own rear yard with grass and vegetation, but privacy fences that separate one from another. Due to the building’s slope, the neighbor above cannot see into the unit below and vice versa. The result is the privacy of suburban life with the all the benefits of community living, just a short trip from downtown Copenhagen.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mountain-dwellings_copenhagen_3.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mountain-dwellings_copenhagen_2.jpg
Hakka Houses of Tulou Province, China
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hakka-houses_fujian-province_1.jpg
These amazing 12th century housing structures are still in use today in the Tulou Province of China. “Hakka Houses“, as they are commonly referred, hold up to 800 people at a time, an early example of the “city within a city” system. Also referred to as “Fujian Tulou”, these structures were designed as small-scale castles to protect their inhabitants from bandits that roamed the countryside. Their wood and iron gate doors kept the bandits from entering, while their six foot earthen walls were nearly impenetrable. The men in these Hakka Houses could then easily defend their families by using the gun holes at roof level to pick off their predators from above.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hakka-houses_fujian-province_2.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/hakka-houses_fujian-province_3.jpg
Marina City, Chicago
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/marina-city_chicago_1.jpg
The Marina City towers in Chicago, Illinois are amongst the city’s most recognizable architectural monuments. These twin, 65-story residential towers stand tall upon the Chicago River, including parking garages, shops and a marina at river level. Marina City has been featured in numerous feature films and TV shows, both up-close and in panning background shots. While living in an architectural gem by Bertrand Goldberg may be a privilege, a studio apartment in these towers can be rented for just $850 a month, not far from the average for this zip code.
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/marina-city_chicago_2.jpg
http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/marina-city_chicago_3.jpg