Gearfuse

Two new buildings are being built in Tinajin, China that are sure to rival the Dubai tower in design. The 1175-foot Sinosteel International Plaza and the 288-foot hotel next to it may not be as tall as the Ultima tower, but they’ve got something to prove with the hexagonal windows installed in them. The windows are placed in such a way that will take the most advantage of the sun and wind that it possibly can, allowing the structure to use as little energy as possible from conventional energy sources.

The Chinese architects, MAD Ltd, came up with this innovative honeycomb design for their windows not only for energy efficiency but also for stability and space. I’m hoping they’re shatter-proof in the event that someone throws a wild mud wrestling party in one of the hotel rooms.
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Architects Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins, both rather avant-garde artists in their own right, have designed these “reversible destiny” lofts. Simply said, they are frankly one of the weirdest concepts we have ever seen.

The houses are specifically built to be uncomfortable. The problem with the elderly these days, other then their horrible stench and their slow driving, is that they spend the majority of their time in the prone position. Just sitting there to rot.

Arakawa tells Newsweek, “People, particularly old people, shouldn’t relax and sit back to help them decline”. How friggen strange is this? On the outside they look like a Ronald McDonald nightmare mixed with a bad acid trip.

So for the chance to live in a house with randomly placed electrical switches, and grainy splintered surfaces, you’ve gotta shell out $750,000. Double the price of a normal home in the same neighborhood. Wow. — Andrew Dobrow

WE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO DIE [Reversible Destiny, via Gridskipper]