Will Miss #310 - the golden turd building

In Asakusa, there is a famous building which foreign folks often refer to as "the golden turd" building. It was designed by a famous French designer (Philippe Starck) and is occupied by Asahi Breweries. The building itself is less of interest than the fact that the people at Asahi at some point were shown a design, which obviously didn't look anything like a golden flame, and went ahead and

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Will Miss #185 - architectural accommodation

Sometimes there are cultural difference clues right in front of you, and you either don't notice them or understand what they mean. Take the design of the house in the picture above. You can see that it has a third floor with an extreme slope such that the room at the top is quite small (and certainly oddly shaped). The reason for this is the focus on sunlight in Japan is very high. Everyone has

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Will Miss #167 - Japanese architectural elements

Some people who haven't been to Japan seem to believe that it's all soaring skyscrapers, avant garde buildings, neon and large television displays, temples, and quaint little Japanese homes. The truth is that it's about 80% (or more) beige or gray boxes with no aesthetic appeal whatsoever (at least in Tokyo) because most of the old houses which were built in a Japanese style have been torn down.

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