Beijing Hotel Sensation - The Opposite House

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's our unofficial "Summer Vacation - Explore International Hotels" Week on Design2Share, and today's featured video focuses on one of the top-rated hotel properties on Conde Nast Traveler's latest Gold List, The Opposite House in Beijing, China. The modern architecture is daring and natural thanks to Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, whose design desires were to give guests a sense of surprise, soft lighting, comfort, and interaction with natural building elements. China has fostered an amazing number of new luxury properties, and you can click here to read more about the Gold List 2012 so you can explore any region of the world to find top-rated hotel and resort accommodations (including luxury cruise lines).

Bonus

Click here to read World's Wildest Hotel Concepts Ever!

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World's Wildest Hotel Concepts Ever!

Irwin Weiner ASID - I call wild architecture "that Dubai phenomenon." It seems that this Middle Eastern philosophy of More Is More is catching on, and there are some amazing, futuristic concepts afoot for new hotels on land, in the ocean, in outer space, and - attention, Newt Gingrich - on the moon. Today's featured video will show you some of these wild hotel concepts, including The Waterworld in China (see above), an imaginative vision for a new hotel in a former quarry. 

But not all wild hotel concepts involve Dubai-style excessive architecture. Some hotels have concepts that are imaginative without being over the top, like Das Park Hotel in Austria (see photos above), where you can stay in a hotel room made from concrete pipes. In a similar recycling bent, how about staying at the Capsule Hotel in The Hague (below), where your floating hotel room is inside a bright orange survival pod?

Or how about the Hotel Everland, a single-room luxury hotel suite that is completely mobile - it's moved around from city to city, sometimes winding up on a beautiful lakefront, and other times winding on the roof of a building overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris or perched atop a contemporary art gallery in Leipzig?

So now that your concept of real hotels has been exploded, it won't be too much of a stretch to watch the following video and imagine staying in an undersea or outer space hotel, right?

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Here's How to Celebrate Chinese New Year

Jennifer Allen Frank - Chinese New Year landed on the new moon of January 23, 2012 in the U.S. It is the Year of the Black Water Dragon. The Chinese New Year is a time to welcome longevity, wealth and prosperity and to eliminate negative chi from the past. This year will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. The year of the dragon is traditionally associated with new beginnings and good fortune. Those with entrepreneurial spirit are particularly favored to see much success in the coming year. Generally, it's predicted that any new venture may benefit from the outstanding luck often associated with the dragon. Therefore, 2012 will be a very good year to get married, have children, and/or start a new business.

The water dragon is a less imperious type of Dragon who favors optimum growth and expansion. He can put aside his ego for the good of all and is less selfish and opinionated. He can assume a wait and see attitude, and his wits are as formidable as his strength of will. The water dragon lives by the “do unto others” philosophy.

Since 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, the liquid element is predicted to calm the dragon's usually tempestuous nature, and will give a thoughtful perspective to the plight of the less fortunate. Water is calming and beneficial to this lunar sign, enabling him to know how to act wisely and do what is essential for his progress. He is quick and reliable and is capable of marketing his ideas with untiring devotion. He is likely to be successful as a negotiator; He must learn to make difficult choices and relinquish whatever is unfeasible or unnecessary. This way, he will be able to devote his energies to fewer but more rewarding endeavors. As the world suffers through one of the worst economic calamities in recent memory, bold new leadership will help ease the circumstances of those suffering most from recent financial setbacks.

Dragons who can pursue their own passionate ambitions while meeting the needs of others are best suited to navigating the year ahead. Those compatible with the Dragon — the Rat and the Snake in particular — will also find 2012's circumstances inspiring them to greater personal happiness and professional success.

House cleaning should be done on or before the day of the eve of Chinese New Year. Starting early in the morning, someone goes to the flower-market to buy red flowers for the worship events and new year’s day decoration. Red is the auspicious color in China.

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Trendspotting: Homes of the Future

Irwin Weiner ASID - Hats off to the architects, contractors, and city planners who are forward thinking enough to encourage dramatic bursts of new home building that, shall we say, totally breaks the mold.

We're used to seeing the vernacular box house with pitched roof and porch and a yard with the usual outdoor rooms. But today's "homes of the future" are anything but traditional. 

Here are some trends worth noting:

1. Many new communities are being built with low or no carbon footprints. Rainwater gets recycled, sometimes dramatically so as in Meixi Lake, China - a high-rise eco city filters the water that goes into this planned community's lake (below, bottom photo).
2. Dynamic modern architecture from top residential designers (top photo, home designed by architect Mark Koehler and second photo, glass house on stilts designed by Benthem Crouwel) is showcased in planned cities of the future, like beautiful Almere, Netherlands.

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