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Sanzhi Pods

Posted by Scott

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A sad day indeed when something this amazing is left to decay. This is of course in the vein of the previous post. Via Daniel Carvalho via yusheng.

"From what I can gather online, this place was built in the 70s as a resort but was later abandoned. I couldn’t find any definitive explanation about why exactly it was abandoned, however. There’s some talks about failed partnerships and/or real estate bubbles. Apparently the location is too hot in the summers and too cold in the winters. The fiberglass shells of these houses certainly don’t help with insulation. I also couldn’t find out whether they were ever occupied in any capacity.
If you are in Taiwan, it’s definitely worth a visit. From Taipei, head towards Danshui, get on Route 2 and follow the direction for Sanzhi. It will be on the left side of the road, along the coast. You can’t miss it. See the aerial view from Google Maps."

21 Comments Leave A Comment

1

adam says:

April 11, 2008 at 6:11 am

too hot in the summers and too cold in the winters. The fiberglass shells of these houses certainly don’t help with insulation.

Don’t lament the death of buildings that don’t work. Architecture is a design art, if it doesn’t work, it’s bad architecture, regardless of how pretty it may be.

2

David says:

April 11, 2008 at 6:21 am

Wow, amazing! If you ever want to know what future might look like at the end of mankind then that’s quite an impression …

4

yaronimus says:

April 11, 2008 at 6:45 am

beautiful architecture, although as you wrote here, not very practical.
i halfly agree what adam said here, but i think that this sort of architecture should be more theoretical (that meens builded in a demo, for fairs and magazines) because it lacked a proper solution, but it’s artistic values are very interesting.

9

Alex / HeadUp says:

April 11, 2008 at 10:13 am

I love looking at urban decay– there’s plenty of it in Philadelphia, especially along the train lines to places like NYC and NJ. I just ride by and marvel, listening to some kind of aggressive d&b (dieselboy usually does the trick) to set the mood– old depression/WWII-era factories, with the signs still there, just rotting. I think my favorite is this massive abandoned electricity facility of some sort, it looks like something out of silent hill.

It’s a shame this didn’t survive tho, I would be more than willing to cope with extreme heat or cold if I could wake up in what reminds me of the album cover of Blue Six’s Beautiful Tomorrow, feeling like I’m on a spaceship or something. Great find, Scott~

10

nataJane says:

April 11, 2008 at 11:52 am

I read in a couple of places that there were several fatal accidents when they were building this and they abandoned the project due to superstition… But I’m sure it could have been a combination of several things.

13

Ming says:

April 14, 2008 at 1:52 am

i have been there,really amazing place!!
it will be demolished recently.

i live in Taipei.

15

rob says:

April 15, 2008 at 10:20 pm

i have heard that that site is haunted.
feng shui experts have been called in and say that the entire site is pretty much “cursed”
im up in there this coming weekend!
ill be sure to bring my proton pack.

16

Anthony Mark says:

April 16, 2008 at 7:33 am

Fiberglas being as toxic as it is, I would not be surprised that if anyone had lived in one of those units, they would not have had a very long life.

17

Linus Ekenstam says:

April 23, 2008 at 1:57 pm

I just need to point out that this is truly amazing, i mean this is RAD, the scenery the colors, and Adam the first comment, you have no idea what you are talking about, this is just incredible, i would love to have a home that looked just like this, We over at superfamous just love iso50 and this has gotten our radical respect mark on it! Keep up the good work Hansen!

18

amber says:

January 9, 2009 at 7:02 pm

I sincerely hope that i get to see this folly before it is demolished. I think it’s a wonderful monument to show that (in architecture) functionality and context should be well considered and researched, and that one should not let aesthetics override one’s vision. Aesthetics should add to the meaning, not be the meaning.