The tripods are coming! The tripods are coming!
Oh, sorry — it’s just a couple of proposals for a new urban plan for Ansan, Gyeonggi-do.
They certainly look cool, at least.
(HT to reader)
The War of the Worlds Comes to Ansan?
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That is amazing but it really is *so* alien that it could be only described as a conceptual ploy to draw the client into thinking more imaginatively so that the real concept they are pitching would not get thrown out as being to “outre”.
I don’t know if it is because all those migrant worker-manned factories give them a big tax base but the folks down here in Ansan have been throwing development money around like crazy for several years.
Hideous…
It belongs in Mars where it came from.
“War of the Worlds?” Naw, the designer is just crazy about 콩나물.
Wangkon, the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, he said.
But still, they come!
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=lqvwxvCOSH4
No kidding, one of the first things I ever heard on Korean radio, between an unknown bbongjjak track and some random techno, was the “Ullllllll-la! Ulllllllllllll-la!” from the musical version of The War of the Worlds. (In a cab from downtown to work.) A co-worker walked into the office a few minutes after me, singing it to herself, “Ulll-la…. Ulll-la,” which is the only way I could be sure I wasn’t misremembering it.
As for the design, I have to say: does Ansan (or any other city in Korea) really need more light pollution? Seriously.
Also, I sure hope someone (the gwallishil ajeoshi? Heh.) remembers to turn it off at night, because that looks like a TON of electricity would be consumed nightly otherwise. It’s not exactly an, um, green-looking design.
(Which lots of major world cities also can’t boast, but I get the feeling now is a good time to shift over, and Korea could jump ahead while it’s so busy frenziedly developing, and I wish more of these space-age designs we’re seeing around the Korean internet were, well, less Space Age and more Green Age. I could be wrong, of course. I’d be curious how interested in energy consumption and footprint the designer was.)
WTF is going on here? Here’s my theory.
In Europe, there’s a surplus of eccentric Germanic architects itching to make their insane experimental ideas into reality. Except the Europeans would never stand for crazy-ass monstrosities like this because they have too much taste. Also, Europe does not have money.
On the other hand, Asians have too much money and not enough good taste. So the Asians pay the eccentric Germanic architects large sums of money to create these whacked-out conceptions, like nouveau-riche peasants going on a godawful gaudy clothing spending-spree. It’s like a match made in heaven that should not be.
Expect to see Asia turned to a surreal architectural Galapagos Island of such ill-conceived horrors in the coming years.
Okay NK… how do you explain “Korea, Sparkling!”?
Oh… it “could” be a hoax…. but it’s still plausible!
http://consumerist.com/consumer/food/how-to-make-a-counterfeit-egg-china-style-257693.php
Oops… wrong thread!
…and people think my sense of humor is obtuse.
Congratulations on spelling “obtuse” correctly, but to whom are you referring?
Gord: Ulll-a? From the end of the story, where the martians have been killed by bacteria? I just heard that part today, but how could you play that on the radio without the Richard Burton narration??
I mean, granted, it is iconic and haunting, but what would a Korean station do with it? The Eve of the War is much more listenable as a standalone. Sometimes I find myself whistling that bi-tonal 6 notes.
Doin’ it now!
I wonder how much of the taxpayers’ dosh they paid for this exercise in architectural onanism?
Give me a break; this will never happen. I’ve talked to both Korean and foreign architects here who’ve tried to propose apartment designs that are more interesting than the standards tombstones. They’ve been shot down in every single case. Developers here firmly believe that Koreans want maximum space and convenience for the price and are not willing to pay for exterior design flourishes.
ecorn
Construction developers don’t give a rat’s ass what Koreans want. There are only interested making the most amount of profit with the least amount of effort, that’s why developers love those tombstone apartments. Sort of like why American car makers prefer selling SUVs.
BTW, “tombstone” is a great analogy. Sadly I live in one of those pale, dull and lifeless like apartments.
Okay NK… how do you explain “Korea, Sparkling!”?
Some random second-tier US advertising/marketing firm failed to land a critical deal with a well-known soft drink company. A member of the team, who once did a stint as an Engrish teacha in Korea heard on the grapevine that the Korea Tourism Board was looking for new slogans. Phone calls were made, bing bam boom, a deal was sealed. Months go by, the team is at a complete loss and is failing to create something special or catchy. The fact that the Koreans are unable to articulate what it is that they want doesn’t help matters. One late night, the deadline is looming, the team leader says, You know what? FUCK IT.
That’s how “KOREA SPARKLING” was conceived.
That thing looks awesome.
Actually the only building design they have that I’m not a big fan of is the yellow blocky M thing.
“BTW, “tombstone” is a great analogy. Sadly I live in one of those pale, dull and lifeless like apartments.”
Yes, very impersonal and utilitarian…which is why my wealthier friends spend a fortune having the interiors redone before they move into a new apartment.
#7,
That’s kinda what’s going on in China.
I’m usually the one at the Hole who talks up contemporary architecture, which the Marmot doesn’t seem too keen on, yet in this case I’m hoping those idiotic plans never see realization–although the “urban porosity” housing has a bit of promise, if the layout was reined in.
Inspiration pods? WTF? I’m sorry. People are typing of this as if it’s to be reality. Do we read too much sci-fi? Are we that stupid? What construction methods/materials support the ‘tripods’? More opiates, please.
“What construction methods/materials support the ‘tripods’?”
Fairy dust.
I like the “urban porosity” housing but I can’t see how residents would travel to and from their apartments. What does it look like when the stairs, elevators, mechanics and hallways are added?
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