San Zhi Taiwan was condemded to the history books back mid 2000. I can't find any info indicating if it's been demolished or not. If it's not too late, hopefully someone has or can resuce these structures. What's wild, from what I've read, they've made of fiberglass!
video link:
That must have been amazing! ...
That must have been amazing! It looks beyond help, great post apocalypse film set though.
Now we know where Astro boy went for holidays.
There was similar pod house made by I think Du pont at the Epcott centre (fuzzy memory), if I can find the book its in will post details.
She is suffering through a fi...
She is suffering through a finance lecture at school at the moment, but emailed me this just now, "It was totally razed. The land was acquired by developers with no plans so save it. The place was in bad shape and ended up being the make out spot for kids. No one in Taiwan was interested in saving it." She did see the news story on TV when it was razed.
I'm in agreement SDR. We're...
I'm in agreement SDR. We're very fortunate to have at least video and photographic memory of the place. Utterly bizzare not one structure, or parts (mix-n-match) of were salvaged. All that time, energy and money just thrown away.
Wikipedia excerpt below.
" The UFO houses were constructed beginning in 1978.[6] They were intended as a vacation resort in a part of the northern coast adjacent to Danshui, and were marketed towards U.S. military officers coming from their East Asian postings.[7] However, the project was abandoned in 1980 due to investment losses and several car accident deaths during construction, which is said to have been caused by the unfortuitous act of bisecting the Chinese dragon sculpture located near the resort gates for widening the road to the buildings.[6][7] Other stories indicated that the site was the former burial ground for Dutch soldiers.[8]
The pod-like buildings became a minor tourist attraction due in part to their unusual architecture.[7] The structures have since been subject of a film, used as a location by MTV for cinematography, photographed by people, and become a subject in online discussions, described as a ghost town or "ruins of the future".[9]
I don't understand why round, pod-like structures
ever seemed "futuristic" or a good idea.
In reading about these, the rationale behind round (or spherical) shaped architecture is that these structures have been "prefabricated" or intended as "modular"... yet nothing about prefab/ modular building suggests a circular shape (if anything, the curves make the exercise even MORE difficult, one would think).
Face it, these shapes are determined only by the appeal of novelty. An attention-seeking architectural tactic, explained away with vague, nonsensical engineering references.
It's designing something from the outside-in ("Eureka! I'll build a spherical house! The design magazines will be all over it! No, I don't know where we'll put the bookshelves, the bed, or the bathtub... don't bother me with such mundane details!")-- a textbook example of function following form.
Sold as "futuristic", but the height of "corny" if you think about it.
Houses aren't space ships, so the aerodynamic-drag of the shape shouldn't be much of a consideration (let alone the ONLY consideration!).
There is no drag in space, I ...
There is no drag in space, I don't think anyone here is claiming its great architecture but the were playful, optimistic, striking and there are some layers of anachronism that are almost comic. Also one of the very few built examples of metabolist leaning building, if the Japanese tower is still extant it might be the last.
From one of the pictures it looked as though the internal walls were going to be straight, besides if something like this was going to be prefabricated (a monocoque?) curves are usually stronger than conventional construction.
WHC...you make valid points. ...
WHC...you make valid points. The outlining area of human beings is rectangular. Makes sense to accommodate design accordingly. Then again, round is organic...we are rounded, the world is round, atoms and molecules are round. For the most part, round just makes sense. Doesn't mean 90 degree angles shouldn't be loved any less. Historically, for thousands of years humans have been creating and living successfully in rounded structures and continue to do so...nothing novel or futuristic.
To me, these structures were intended to explore possibilities. Sanzhi complexes mirror what Lautner was doing with his Chemosphere design. I found a few interior shots, and there was squaring of the interior forms. Also, I suspect that families lived per floor, not per pod. This would make sense considering the limitations of round forms. The squared central column would accommodate functional requirements while the rounded butterfly wing pod forms were for living? A fantastic concept for a community, a school of colorful butterfly's perched near water.
Heath...speaking of curves, one of the misses of type of design is the sharp squatness of ends. A waste of space. Lautner's Chemosphere does a much better job addressing this kind of waste.
tchp.... illuminating news (I know ,I know...corny)! I wouldn't mind being abducted by much higher intelligence E.T.'s...with non-negotiable caveats of course.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com