“Sidewalk meets no sidewalk” in this blunt urban clash. A super oblique wedge building frozen in the space between the road and a new residential building. This tenacious wedge structure (what’s left of it) stands victorious over the planning-approved new building.
A legitimized “shop front” of beetle nut vendors in a new residential building. This is highly unusual as they are invariable either ramshackle glass huts by roads’ edge or in old run rundown buildings. As they sell the addictive beetle nut, drinks and cigarettes with skimpily clad, at times almost naked, young women, they are frowned upon “socially accepted sleaze”. Here, the 6 vendors are arranged in a neat row of (albeit adhoc looking) shop fronts between the residential entrance lobbies. A truly bewildering sight.
A MOST audacious illegal extension on a high floor and with a 360 degree wrap around life-saver-esque construction. Here, the completeness and geometric purity of the illegal building gave prominent character to the otherwise bland concrete block.
“The Overpass Building”: A super vertical array of highway overpasses creates an impressive “building” made up of lines of movement. Upon closer inspection, a dynamic arterial system speeds through the surrounding urban fabric.
A building with “fringes” on its side. The fringes are steel r-bars (reinforcement bars use in concrete construction) left exposed for potential future extensions. Although this is actually really bad for future expansion due to rust, this practice is quite commonly seen in the more rural areas of Taiwan. This facade butts up against an alley, with no possible future expansion into public roads, making these fringes all the more intriguing.
An incredible building facade in Hong Kong- a mosaic of windows, air con units and walls- like an abstract painting.
photos by Wonduk Han
An illegal cage extension with a panoramic Slinky inspired form in Taipei. Pretty much all illegal balcony extensions are rectangular boxes, this one is very very rare, arguably the only one of its kind.
I’ve always love these earth hugging retaining grid walls. They can be seen in some mountainous parts of Taiwan as well.
(Source: nowserving, via retazosdered)
A mosaic housing block where every single unit is constructed of different materials and styles in Tamsui District, Taipei. It stands in strong contrast to the “unified” look of the grey concrete house to the far right. This highly variegated facade effect has been copied and duplicated by some western architects who are attracted to the Asian expression of density and chaotic harmony.
