Ally Christopher Allen recommends Steven Holl's Beijing Looped Hybrid project (click "enter site," then "residential housing'), of which he says "I believe it would be the most green mixed use complex in the world. You should also look under 'planning' at the Green Urban Lab in Nanning. Hell, look at it all!"

Here's Holl's own rhetoric: "Filmic urban space; around, over and through multifaceted spatial layers, are the central aims of this Hybrid Building complex sited adjacent to the center of Beijing. The aspiration of the developer Modern Group is for an ultra-modern expression of 21st Century ecological urban living."

The pictures are pretty, too, and 21st Century-looking, and, jeez, folks, it's the greening of China, and we're all for that.

a link may be helpful... http://www.stevenholl.com/PT337_1C.htm

Posted by: eric on November 11, 2004 10:56 PM

I'm confused here. Your link has my name, but it points to YellowArrow.org which I don't author (and have never seen before). Is it another Christopher Allen, or a typo?

Posted by: Christopher Allen on November 11, 2004 10:57 PM

It's another Christopher Allen, Christopher. Very confusing for all of us, trust me... ;)

You should check out yellow arrow, though, it's cool.

Posted by: Alex Steffen on November 11, 2004 11:23 PM

Thanks for the direct link, eric; us flash-challenged people can't make it through the craptacular site intro.

Given that, I can't see what's so great about this "looped hybrid" building.  It's a multi-use complex, but nothing visible on the page http://www.stevenholl.com/PT337_1C.htm claims anything about energy economy, wastewater reuse, or anything else that would make it "greener" (or is that implicit in the "filmic urban space" jargon?).  Is that one more thing that's hidden in the Shockwave stuff?

Posted by: Engineer-Poet on November 12, 2004 6:53 AM

Western world bourgois meets Eastern world bourgeois. Green housing is a luxury problem. There's over 5 million malnourished children in China. Another 200 million have no clean drinking water.

We must get our priorities straight. And that green housing project shows that some people have lost all sense of proportion and priority.

http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com

Posted by: Lorenzo on November 13, 2004 12:04 PM

Just looks like a set of butt ugly buildings to me.. sorta reminds me of those futuristic evil mind control state sets of b movies realy. Only less cool.

As for priorities its just a glorified apartment complex for wealthy chinese people so really poor people dont apply to its design consept. Its what wealthy chinese see as futuristic and attractive .. or at least thats what the builders hope;/

Posted by: wintermane on November 14, 2004 9:58 PM