Hello everybody.
i am heading to visit china soon,and i am very excited by that
i have searched for all of the diverse of china including the architecture,
i have to mention that china have done a great job to turn it's cities to real skyscrapers cities.
most of the photos deals with the glasses new buildings which are nowadays rising slowly,but i am looking for pictures of the residential building - commieblocks/condos that as i understand became the main way of living in china.
i fell in love with the idea of living high above the ground,and this is very green idea and execution.
in most of the buildings i also love the design and the diverse use of balconies and colors.
if some can post new thread(i am aware to the old thread)about the newest from the 21 century commieblocks/condos i would be glad.

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The Kunming one is adorable, a clear example of how high density is more enviroment-friendly since you have to use far less space for a lot of people, and besides you can afford huge greenery areas all around the neighborhood without creating urban deserts. The only con I see in the pic is the lack of parking lots. But I guess they use underground parkings under the condos, right? In that case it's even better. Add a huge expressway and a light metro line in the background and it'll be a perfect suburb according to my own standards.

Edit: Checked GE, and saw there're TWO highways crossing around. The light rail line should come soon or late. Perfect urbanism then :master:

1000% better than the capitalist block/ slums of mexico and India.

^^It still a capitalist block too, they made beautiful to attract consumer.

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Those aren't commie blocks, those are capitalist blocks, they are like little to no commie blocks in china now.

This thread is Shenzhen Aerial View, there are a lot of photos of apartment complex from the air. It's beautiful.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=914576

notice one thing is missing is parking lot for car,in xiamen,for example, a lot of real estate developer did not even add parking lot,result is that most of tenants who own car, parked anywhere they can,specially at night.
big problem in China, is that after owning apartment,you wanted a car.
the problem mirror that of south korea. or taiwan.
In taiwan,the before you brought an apartment, alway ask if there's any parking space for your car.

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Those aren't commie blocks, those are capitalist blocks, they are like little to no commie blocks in china now.

You dumb shit, commieblocks have NOTHING to do with communism or anything of that sort. Commieblock is short for Communal Blockhouses, a term I believe originated from mass housing developments in London back in the 60's (I could be wrong about the specifics, but the term definitely came about from a capitalist European country describing its own mass housing) So even housing projects in Manhattan, Queensbridge, and Brooklyn are still commieblocks. Co-op city in the Bronx is a commieblock development.

You dumb shit, commieblocks have NOTHING to do with communism or anything of that sort. Commieblock is short for Communal Blockhouses, a term I believe originated from mass housing developments in London back in the 60's (I could be wrong about the specifics, but the term definitely came about from a capitalist European country describing its own mass housing) So even housing projects in Manhattan, Queensbridge, and Brooklyn are still commieblocks. Co-op city in the Bronx is a commieblock development.
You don't have to be a fucking ass about it

isn't wenshou the birth place HL real estate tycoon Lee Kah seng?
hear that he invest heavely in wenzhou.
I remember back in 1988, bus ride from Hong Kong to Xiamen took some 19 hours. we past through wenzhou, back then skyline was flat.

You dumb shit, commieblocks have NOTHING to do with communism or anything of that sort. Commieblock is short for Communal Blockhouses, a term I believe originated from mass housing developments in London back in the 60's (I could be wrong about the specifics, but the term definitely came about from a capitalist European country describing its own mass housing) So even housing projects in Manhattan, Queensbridge, and Brooklyn are still commieblocks. Co-op city in the Bronx is a commieblock development.

I don't buy this explanation. Commieblock is a derogatory description of the type of housing found in the soviet block of nation. It is difficult to find any news article describing housing in Brooklyn or of any ( democratic government )as commieblock.

Commie Blocks were invented by Le Corbusier (sp?) and are my idea of hell. that greenspace is a waste of space. Theres nothing fun to do there, and there is so much distance from the house and the rest of the cities. Unfortunately in China, they are not building these in the suburbs only but in the city center, they even have them in Lujiazui. They can build up density but having an urban jungle with a ton of different housing blocks of different hights is much more desireable IMO. I cannot imagine the bus stops at these places during rush hour.

The ability of such commieblocks to interact with its surroundings are pretty bad. Mansion blocks that open up to streets would be much better for urban areas.

^^ Shanghai does have mansion blocks in the city center but the commie blocks are creeping ever closer. They have them just north of Nanjing road now. I wouldn't be surprised if my house was torn down for a commie block.

Xiamen

http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/0495ED4E.002C
http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/0495EC1B.002C
http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/0495EE52.002C
http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/0495EFE3.002C
http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/0495F269.002C
http://bbs.home.news.cn/upfiles/0495F68F.002C

isn't wenshou the birth place HL real estate tycoon Lee Kah seng?
hear that he invest heavely in wenzhou.
I remember back in 1988, bus ride from Hong Kong to Xiamen took some 19 hours. we past through wenzhou, back then skyline was flat.

LKS is from Chaozhou, which is in Guangdong. Wenzhou is in Zhejiang.

By the way, I hate those buildings. Just because they appear green doesn't mean they are environmentally friendly. The savings in energy usage with denser populations cease to apply when skyscrapers themselves consume huge quantities of power to maintain themselves. One can just imagine the amount of chemicals used to keep those gardens, which have no use other than being pretty to eyes, manicured. The residents almost certainly move around by car, which further adds to the energy usage.

Sorry, I think those buildings represent the worst of Chinese people and not the best.

The problem with those buildings is that they don't encourage residents and visitors to actually get around by foot or by public transport. A 小区 can be so large and the middle of it so distant from the nearest thoroughfare, then because the buildings do not always line the streets you often end up with a long boring walk. What are people going to want to do? Yep you've guessed it take the car.

^^

When the block(s) gets so big, public/private transports come to you :lol:.

hvENnj3TODI

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Hong Kong's cappie blocks are a little different. Though I don't like the cookie cutter and insular elements, Hong Kong's cappie blocks aren't as bad as the mainland commie blocks for three reasons. 1. Due to land scarcity, HK cappie blocks can not spread out like the ones in Beijing. 2. The cappie blocks are much taller and closer together and usually don't require a 10 minute walk through a park (if you are lucky) or a parking lot (if you are unlucky) 3. They have entrances on all sides and don't require someone to walk half-a mile just to get to the other side of a fence. Not all HK cappie blocks are like this. I found the ones in Olympic and in TengCheng (東湧） particularly undesireable, but i did think they were way better than my place in Beijing.

why do you hate walking so much

Well I think 10 minutes to the nearest thoroughfare for public transport and other services is a little excessive. It's not just the walking itself it's also this perceived need to privatise large amounts of space to keep the 'riffs-raffs' out and this general phobia of (other) people which I and a few others find unhealthy.

Few from Tianjin:

http://s09.radikal.ru/i182/1007/7d/1d40c8826091.jpg

http://s14.radikal.ru/i187/1007/5e/99d89d45b00c.jpg

http://s50.radikal.ru/i129/1007/f3/31292ecb0390.jpg

http://i077.radikal.ru/1007/eb/4182069f19e5.jpg

http://s61.radikal.ru/i172/1007/a8/ae07d4324984.jpg

http://s56.radikal.ru/i152/1007/b5/09bdbce9c2bc.jpg

http://s43.radikal.ru/i099/1007/18/e14f62c361b7.jpg

http://i074.radikal.ru/1007/f6/a3c0af425e2a.jpg

http://s43.radikal.ru/i100/1007/38/bd9119e2589a.jpg

http://s003.radikal.ru/i203/1007/f1/78e76b949085.jpg

Its not that I hate walking. The 10 minute walk to get out of the complex is inconvenient because it wastes time. I have to make that walk every time I have to leave the house. That includes to and from work, its just a waste of time. The more collie blocks a city has the less walkable it is.

collie blocks? LOL. right now, i'm going to rename my 1990s spanish revival condo as a royal hacienda.

i thought the original commieblocks was already a bad misnomer. 'collie blocks' either refers to adam smith's preference, or a favorite dog breed's houses. luckily no one outside of this thread will pick up the term, as 'true' capitalism is about maximizing yield on investment and building greenfield tract housing far off into the horizon.

those prefab developments (both public and private) in hong kong are huge. not because someone intentionally set out to make your walks longer, but economies of scale dictated that they'd be of a certain size. the limited access points and often sloping terrain makes 'easy' walking anything but easy.

walking 10 minutes for transportation and services is pretty much within the tolerable limits for most every urban area. unless you live directly atop the subway, you'll have to walk a block or more. for new urbanist areas, everything within 1000 meters is considered to be the immediate area.

^^ The ten minute walk means the walk from your building to the gate of the commie block complex. God knows how long it is from there to the place where you need to take public transport. If its beijing, than you will probably have to walk along the fence of your commie block complex in the opposite direction for another 10 minutes haha.,

You are right, commie blocks are not exclusive to communist countries. Most real communist countries have a hard time building any kind of housing. So sometimes I call them cappie blocks, like the places they build along the beach in florida 'n such

uh, you're from tampa. a 10 minute walk to amenities and public transportation isn't the worst you've seen. cause... waiting for a tampa bus is usually like waiting for a comet. but then i'm sure you'll find a new argument.

these buildings in question are the products of prefabricated concrete construction. as such, their aesthetics won't be as delicate as those of previous periods. but they make sense on a cost/benefit basis. the term commie block came into place as a pejorative on these forums. people derided supposedly the 'soulless' social housing in communist and social democratic nations.

when americans (cause that's a common background for both of us) thought of commieblocks/prefab concrete, dystopian images of pruitt igoe and the robert taylor homes came to mind. those projects were doomed because they housed the lowest on the socio-economic scale in places with hollowed out industrial cores and no effective hope for its inhabitants. the building management left a lot to be desired, and these projects eventually turned into fodder for the evening news.

now that right wing governments have allowed the 'market' to completely take over the process of new residential construction... oh hell, you can finish the sentence.

of all the things that mess up a city's functionality, commieblocks (god that's a stupid term) aren't high on the list.

Just bacause I am from america doesn't mean that i cant complain about Shanghai, I have been here over a year now and am of the opinion that these cappie blocks are not deserable. Whats worse is that they aren't regulated to the far off suburbs, but rather encroaching in on the city center and are replacing nice non commie block housing.

My problem with the commie block is not the density, height, construction material or any of that. My problem is the insular nature of the commie block and other related developments in China. China's new development's are all based on an insular design where everything is sectioned off from another. These zones are connected my wide roads which in turn makes it unpleasant to walk.

Sure America is worse. but in urban planning, America is a lost cause, at least China has hope, I just don't want to see China go down the slippery slope of having cities that are more and more spread out and shooting themselves in the foot by having a 21st century heavily oil dependent economy.

commieblock neighborhoods are ok if they have markets inside them, and retail everywhere, but with new construction that is not the case, there's merely a useless park. They should stop trying to sterilize everything, cities are supposed to be chaotic, dirty, and exciting!

^^ Amen

commieblock neighborhoods are ok if they have markets inside them, and retail everywhere, but with new construction that is not the case, there's merely a useless park. They should stop trying to sterilize everything, cities are supposed to be chaotic, dirty, and exciting!
commie block particular these located in the city center may has to go,if the city seeking to revitalize urban economic development.

my old commieblock neighborhood that I live in has near-perfect urbanity in my opinion, (most of) the commieblocks themselves are nice and secluded so there is not too much noise, but the main road running through the complex has retail everywhere, and there are several large, bustling markets to buy stuff at. Also, the edge of the complex isn't too far away from any place, at most 500-700m away to go to the outside world with its KFCs, McDonalds, and Carrefours ;)

KFCs, McDonalds, and Carrefours ;)

Was this in China or in Canada? 'Meh' in the case of the former, 'Ew' if it's the latter. :)

Tianjin obviously, there was an area with those 3 chains a block away. Also there were two "Mr. Lee's California Beef Noodle King USA"s within 300m of each other, if one didn't want western fast food for once :P

Thought that would be the case. Tianjin's old 小区 don't tend to be overenginnered and the public road (市政道路) network is usually quite dense.

I'm a bit disappointed by the popularity of Western fast food chains - they are literally in your face everywhere! Maccies and KFC are not even that popular in the UK - there are similar numbers of high quality independent chippies, Indian and Chinese takeaways and restaurants, which are infinitely better. Small independent restaurants in China just don't seem to have the same prestige.

commieblock neighborhoods are ok if they have markets inside them, and retail everywhere, but with new construction that is not the case, there's merely a useless park. They should stop trying to sterilize everything, cities are supposed to be chaotic, dirty, and exciting!

Only in capitalist country that cities are supposed to be chaotic and dirty.
In communist China we try to make our city orderly and clean and nice to live in.

Thought that would be the case. Tianjin's old 小区 don't tend to be overenginnered and the public road (市政道路) network is usually quite dense.

I'm a bit disappointed by the popularity of Western fast food chains - they are literally in your face everywhere! Maccies and KFC are not even that popular in the UK - there are similar numbers of high quality independent chippies, Indian and Chinese takeaways and restaurants, which are infinitely better. Small independent restaurants in China just don't seem to have the same prestige.

Goubuli (they serve baozi) is actually quite popular in Tianjin, it seems to be one of the few Chinese fast-food chains available, and it usually tastes good. Though of course, yes, the western fast food chains are more popular, they are usually packed almost completely full at all times of day, with screaming kids everywhere :lol:

Ah yes, the good old 狗不理, nice to see some preserved heritage, even if a bit corporatised.

Thought that would be the case. Tianjin's old 小区 don't tend to be overenginnered and the public road (市政道路) network is usually quite dense.

I'm a bit disappointed by the popularity of Western fast food chains - they are literally in your face everywhere! Maccies and KFC are not even that popular in the UK - there are similar numbers of high quality independent chippies, Indian and Chinese takeaways and restaurants, which are infinitely better. Small independent restaurants in China just don't seem to have the same prestige.

Its difficult to open an independant restaurant in China due to commie block/spread out insular development that is rampant these days. The amount of wasted land by open space developments and the lack of walkable streets forces all retail to be in designated insular malls (see Jianwai Soho) these malls are all new and have some semblance of luxury, therefore only big chains can make it. The developers also sign contracts with franchising companies, therefore what franchises are allowed in what development is decided by the developers not by the market or the people. Imagine talking a whole block of small independant retailers and demolishing it for a corporate run mega-retail complex. This is happening Everywhere in Shanghai now just go to WuJiang road and see the destruction for yourself.

Its difficult to open an independant restaurant in China due to commie block/spread out insular development that is rampant these days. The amount of wasted land by open space developments and the lack of walkable streets forces all retail to be in designated insular malls (see Jianwai Soho) these malls are all new and have some semblance of luxury, therefore only big chains can make it. The developers also sign contracts with franchising companies, therefore what franchises are allowed in what development is decided by the developers not by the market or the people. Imagine talking a whole block of small independant retailers and demolishing it for a corporate run mega-retail complex. This is happening Everywhere in Shanghai now just go to WuJiang road and see the destruction for yourself.

Yeah I know Wujiang Road well as I used to live very near it and my family depended on it for grocery shopping. OK it was a dirty street market at the time but the kind of vibe you just don't get these days. Then the street was renovated and there was that time when it was full of independent restaurants and I remember my grandma taking me there. Nowadays all the street-level activities are gone and it's just so corporate and sterile.

cities are supposed to be chaotic, dirty, and exciting!

For the most part, I agree with you but a bit less shit on streets, decent sanitation and less retarded driving culture wouldn't hurt any city in PRC.

retarded driving culture is awesome. the other two i agree need to be fixed though. I'd rather not have cities so sanitized as in the US where there's no life, the constant horn honking and crazy driving patterns makes the streets even more alive.

retarded driving culture is awesome. the other two i agree need to be fixed though. I'd rather not have cities so sanitized as in the US where there's no life, the constant horn honking and crazy driving patterns makes the streets even more alive.

O_o you sureeee you're okay?>

Edit: Anyway, here's a photo of Apartment blocks sprouting along Changsha City.

北城三角洲/世纪城 2010.07.11
By: xiaomianlong

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//fanjoin/share/2010/7/13/11278958002957.jpg

yeah after getting almost run over when crossing the street a few times today I'm not so sure about that statement. I still like frequent horn honking though :P

yeah after getting almost run over when crossing the street a few times today I'm not so sure about that statement. I still like frequent horn honking though :P

The traffic (including the nerve breaking 24/7 honking) in China is a constant stress factor leading to all kinds of mental and physical illnesses. :bash:

China should also ban turning righ when the traffic light is red because most drivers (including bicycle, tricycle, motorbike, e-bike) in China are bloody beginners besides not caring much about other people's and his/her own safety at all. :bash:

Ehehe I bought a pedestrian horn. Scooter terrorists are confused when suddenly someone's honking back.

Why are there walls around commieblocks in the first place? You could replace the ugly and inconvenient walls and gates n' the majiang guards with dunno....proper doors that open outwards instead of pieces of shit that can be kicked in or their locks picked in 15 seconds? Because despite those walls and "guards", anyone can get in.

O_o you sureeee you're okay?>

Edit: Anyway, here's a photo of Apartment blocks sprouting along Changsha City.

北城三角洲/世纪城 2010.07.11
By: xiaomianlong

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//fanjoin/share/2010/7/13/11278958002957.jpg

Hah, hope they didn't undermine the levee's during construction.

The traffic (including the nerve breaking 24/7 honking) in China is a constant stress factor leading to all kinds of mental and physical illnesses. :bash:

China should also ban turning righ when the traffic light is red because most drivers (including bicycle, tricycle, motorbike, e-bike) in China are bloody beginners besides not caring much about other people's and his/her own safety at all. :bash:

Wow, there's this one post by YelloPerilo I actually agree with 100%!!

:eek::runaway::cheers:

Yes, traffic chaos is I think the wrong kind of chaos to have as it has direct impacts and safety and health. What I'd like to see more of is architectural and cultural chaos - buildings and streets of various sizes, styles and periods which Shanghai generally does fairly well in most central and inner areas. There need to be more old allyways retained and developed organically into higher quality ones to compliment the many big corporate projects.

Ehehe I bought a pedestrian horn. Scooter terrorists are confused when suddenly someone's honking back.

I just use my vocal chord, and it sounds pretty similar to a real horn too, albeit at an insufficient volume hehe.

I just use my vocal chord, and it sounds pretty similar to a real horn too, albeit at an insufficient volume hehe.

buy one of these

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQXag1DxCDAwV_Z2HGKnARGfdAMDKH9MwjA_yA6Xi0NzADlIkw&t=1&usg=__DHO6MiOB49INKlwjN_DniAogUqo=

O_o you sureeee you're okay?>

Edit: Anyway, here's a photo of Apartment blocks sprouting along Changsha City.

北城三角洲/世纪城 2010.07.11
By: xiaomianlong

http://pic.qnpic.com:83/r.jsp?fn=//fanjoin/share/2010/7/13/11278958002957.jpg

Saw that while I was crossing the bridge. I really wish they had that in America, saves alot land and more night parties.

Some of commie block apartment interior in Shanghai:

QAdZyVfWyAU

Don't you think it's too small? Especially the kitchen.


qb0_xdkArBw

This one decorated very nice.

By seeing this 2 videos, it look like China apartment look very nice. I wonder what kind of economy level for people in China living in that apartment? Since everything in China cheap, the apartment size itself is very small, Do you think common low-mid class can afford house like that? Or only for mid class above?