China
Beijing will replace 67,000 gas-fueled taxis with electric cars
The taxi fleet conversion has an estimated price tag of $1.3 billion, with each electric vehicle going for $20,000 a pop.
China’s latest replica landmark? London’s Tower Bridge
The Suzhou bridge has reignited debates over whether Chinese cities should continue to build knockoffs of global landmarks or just knock it off.
Inside an airy modern cave home in China
The striking home takes over a barrel-vaulted recess in the earth, and comprises a combination of new spaces and a derelict existing cave revamped for contemporary living.
China’s first aerial cycleway opens to bikers
Around the globe, cities are entering a new golden age of bicycle infrastructure. Xiamen’s new elevated bike and pedestrian bath is another example.
Thousands of cubic rocks cover this trippy archive for stone
When Chinese studio Atelier Alter was commissioned to build the an archive for stone in Beijing, it drew inspiration directly from the process of cutting stone.
25-square-foot ‘pod’ dwellings in high demand in Hong Kong
Renting for roughly $400-$650 a month, the first 10 pods were snatched up in just 15 days. And there are plans for 1,000 more.
Tadao Ando-designed theater in Shanghai features large circular cutouts
The Shanghai Poly Grand Theater is a massive glass-and-concrete rectilinear building that features circular cutouts and recesses—like holes on a block of Swiss cheese—that are open to the public and exposed to the air.
Empty shopping malls latest consequence of China's building spree
The surplus of monuments to commerce is leading to boarded up, disused centers.
Tiny Beijing alley house transformed into sweet, character-filled home
The formerly "prison-like" home was outfitted with a large window, sleeping loft, and a stunning wood-beam ceiling.
Bad air pollution in Beijing causes second day of highest-ever alert in city
Visibility was so bad that many airports canceled flights, and three major ports stopped the loading of ships.
New skyscraper is China's second, world's fifth-tallest
CTF is the world’s fifth tallest skyscraper, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, and comprises 111 stories and includes offices, a conference center, hotel, and subterranean shopping concourse that connects to public transportation.
World’s highest bridge opens in China
A handful of awesome, terrifying bridges have come out of China this year. Is this the most impressive one yet?
Beijing factory becomes artist’s live-work space in sleek conversion
This bright, airy live-work space makes use of the structure’s original skylights, exposed-steel trusses, and high, gabled ceilings, which clock in at nearly 20 feet tall.
China’s wild ‘straddling bus’ is literally abandoned in a rusty shed
Has the saga of the futuristic "straddling bus" come to an end? A local reporter in the Chinese city where the vehicle was being tested tracked down the prototype and found it gathering dust in a shed.
Stunning Chinese apartment building-mountain showcased in new photos
Fake Hills, an apartment complex inspired by mountains, clocks in at a gob-stopping 492,000 square meters—or about 5.3 million square feet.
China is building a life-sized replica of the Titanic
The $145 million replica is destined to be a unique tourist draw. Tickets to stay in the enormous vessel went on sale way back in 2005 for about $435 a night.
Prefab extension adds light and space to Beijing home
Instead of buying a new apartment in a high-rise, the client chose to renovate her childhood family home in the neighborhood of Changchun Jie with a plug-in instead—for a thirty times less than what it would cost to buy a new home.
Futuristic arts and architecture center combines two museums in one
Built as part of the Futian Cultural District—Shenzhen’s new urban center—MOCAPE comprises seven stories over 861,000 square feet and rises 131 feet tall.
Clever tiny home fits a family of 6 in Beijing
Hutongs, traditional Chinese housing made up of narrow alleyways and courtyards, continue to be ripe for small living wizardry. The latest example? A 460-square-foot Beijing home for a family of six.
Robots built this trippy brick facade
Brick, a material as old as time, may just be the edgiest thing in architecture right now. Over in Shanghai, a new brick facade seems to defy dimension, looking like some mysterious sci-fi force is ripping right through it.
Stunning geometries grace new Muslim cultural center in China
Islamic tradition meets modern edge in this massive new Muslim cultural center in Dachang, China, about 40 miles east of Beijing. It’s jaw-dropping.
Wavy footbridge in China is infrastructure at its most playful
The 607 feet long and 13 feet high Lucky Knot bridge undulates in several strands and connects the banks of the Dragon King Harbour River in the Meixi Lake district.
World’s longest escalator opens in China
Snaking up the side of China’s "Grand Canyon," the world’s longest escalator is now taking tourists from Hubei province’s Qixing Village resort to a scenic lookout roughly 650 feet above its base. More than 600,000 people are expected to take the 18-minute-ride every year.
China adds 98 sites to architectural heritage list
The country’s first 20th-Century Chinese Architectural Heritage List debuted with look-worthy sites.
Giant smog-sucking tower creates ‘bubble of clean air’ in Beijing
In 2013, Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde unveiled a proposal for a giant "electronic vacuum cleaner" that would help clear the sky in pollution-ridden Beijing. Three years and a $150,000 Kickstarter campaign later, the giant air purifier has just made its debut in the Chinese capital.
Stunning Chinese country retreat is built into the foot of a mountain
The home’s insistence on showcasing the surrounding landscape’s beauty takes it to a new level.
First look: Inside Zaha Hadid Architects's new culture center in China
Created as a mixed-use building, the impressive structure will house a hotel, a 2,100-seat conference center, 500-seat concert venue, office space, and basement parking.
Great Wall of China gets covered in cement, does not look great
The "repairs" were made in 2014, but have only recently come to light.
China’s ambitious infrastructure projects are harming its economy
An Oxford report found half of Chinese infrastructure built in the last 30 years wasn’t worth the cost of construction.
Cheerful waiting room brightens a visit to this modern dentist office
The clean-lined, white-and-pale-wood-loving modern look has gone mainstream, just ask the rebranded TGI Fridays in Texas or every other Airbnb rental, or this refreshing new dental clinic in Tianjin, China.
Could this be the world’s worst apartment?
If it’s not, we don’t want to find out what is.
Traditional meets contemporary in updated rammed-earth hostel in China
This traditional rammed-earth house in Pingtian, a village located in the Sidu Township of Songyang County in China, has been converted into a design-forward youth hostel by architect He Wei that utilizes plastic walls to create highly adaptable spaces.
Furniture from new Chinese startup may soon be available in the U.S.
Demand for high-quality, design-forward, western-style furniture is increasing in China, where the growth of the urban middle class continues to explode. Because of the country’s massive manufacturing capabilities and consumer base, its fledgling brands are able to operate—and grow—at an unprecedented pace.
China’s ban on ‘weird architecture’ is not going particularly well
It seems unlikely that this toilet-shaped building is in compliance with the new rules.
There is an semi-abandoned replica of Paris in China and it’s incredible
The project might not have gone as planned, but it makes a great backdrop for a music video.
Wild mirrored bookstore debuts in China
While futuristic at first glance, the inspiration for the space actually comes from the past. Take a closer look.
3D-printed Chinese villa is virtually indestructible
The 4,300-square-foot concrete home is sturdy enough to sustain a magnitude eight earthquake.
China’s most expensive home costs $154 million
If you’re paying that much for a house, you better believe it comes with a mist-covered pond.
These prefab wooden shelters were designed solely for napping
Prefab wood panels are the building blocks of some curious new structures now rising at Jade Valley Winery outside of the central Chinese city of Xi’an. Called "Napavilions," these dwellings were expressly designed for—you guessed it—napping.