Astonishing aerial view of Hong Kong's public housing towers

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/22/astonishing-aerial-view-of-hon.html

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Geez, if there was a fire, I think that would be pretty scary. So many floors to deal with in the stairwell. Maybe better to own a parachute.

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Cinematography reminiscent of Koyannisqatsi.

It amazes me to see all those identical cells, lined up in rectangular array, knowing that each one holds a unique life with unique hopes and dreams. All the same on the outside, but each one different on the inside.

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Makes me really appreciate our little bungalow in Joshua Tree, really.

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Flying into the old Hong Kong airport you could almost imagine rolling down your window and reaching out to touch some of those buildings. Literally eye contact with people on the way down.

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Kai Tak was “interesting” to land at, you could even see what was on the TVs.

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Beautiful video. Makes me so glad I don’t live there.

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What I remember about many of these types of buildings in HK was the extraordinary use of ceramic tile and stainless steel. Colorful moldy, mildewed tile everywhere juxtaposed with a myriad of polished stainless steel objects.

HK is awesome! But, if you don’t have a truck full of cash at your disposal it might be a little overwhelming to live there.

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My office is on the 21st floor and going down for fire drills is scary enough. Imagine for even higher buildings…

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Hong Kong is fascinating in many ways, not the least of which is the built environment. Anyone with an interest in civil engineering or public transportation would be well repaid to invest in a trip there.

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Wow! What a sterile environment. And no people! There’s nobody on any balcony, no signs of life until the aerial street view at about 7:00.

You won’t find many places livelier than Hong Kong. Because of the extreme density due to housing costs and geography, people don’t hang at their tiny apartments much. They’re out working or playing.

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Just €1,999, delivered:

SOS Parachute

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Blimey, I never imagined that such a structure could exist in the real world. Even Le Corbusier would be impressed.

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Came here for a block-war reference, left satisfied.

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What a pleasure to read that someone appreciates Koyanisquatsi.
The only movie I ever watched at the theater where there was absolute silence as people left the theater. You could have heard a needle falling on the carpet.

While the images are amazing in more than one way, they are also depressing. At least at this side of the screen. How many neighbors might there be? 5000? Will they all have a house warming party?

At first I thought it would be Macro photography of some electronic connectors. The kind used in data centers. Just without labels.

I would like to see another image of the building with all the inhabitants standing at their windows waving.

However, considering the amount of homeless people in the US, there should be one of these public housing apartment blocks in every major city.

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…Michael Wolf’s Architecture of Density ,
but with a drone… :roll_eyes:… 13 years later…

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Psssst there’s a master topic list.

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That last second turn is reminiscent of Reagan National in DC

These apartment are not as visually interesting as the Kowloon Walled City was, but I bet they’re more pleasant to live in.

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