People’s Daily Building Design, Shanzhai Burj Al Arab?

[Netease] The new building design for People’s Daily (人民日报) has been confirmed, the selected winner was designed by Professor Zhou Qi (周琦) of Southeast University, School of Architecture. However, once the plan was made public, netizens immediately started heated discussions. Some people say it looks like an iron, some say it looks like an aircraft carrier or even a urinal pot (an old style vessel for urine, used in bedrooms). Also some people criticized the building design is a shanzhai version of the Burj Al Arab — Dubai’s seven-star hotel in United Arab Emirates.

  People’s Daily new building design model

  Burj Al Arab

The New building of People’s Daily will be built on the east Sanhuan (东三环) in Beijing, located at Beijing’s CBD (Central Business District) eastside expansion which is adjacent to the CCTV’s newly constructed headquarters complex – the “Big Underpants”.

While we are on the subject of CCTV buildings I thought I will brief on the recent CCTV architecture scandal. The “Big Underpants” might just be a joke nick name for this building but the recent CCTV architecture porn controversy took it to another level and triggered great public uproar. The CCTV annex and the CCTV complex resembles a pair of male and female genitalia! This article from Danwei uncovers the scandal in great details.

It turns out that while Chinese audiences have been spending the last five years watching construction proceed on this massive erection of glass and steel, completely innocent as to its filthy connotations, architect Rem Koolhaas may have been aware of the resemblance all along, and he might have even done it on purpose.

Netizens found the images in the book “content” which was published by CCTV architect Rem Koolhaas, reveals the building resembling a pair of male and female genitalia.

CCTV Headquarters and the annex

Rem Koolhaas brushed aside the rumors in an interview with CCTV that did not directly mention the possible pornographic interpretation of the CCTV complex.

Perhaps the People’s Daily building design was not nearly as controversy as CCTVs, but none of the less people have already started the criticism.

This is a perfect pair with the “Big Underpants”, in my home I have a old style urinal pot looks just like it, People’s Daily is awesome, CCTV already has a shocking “Big Underpants”. Now there is a antique Urinal Pot, we don’t know what will they come up with next by which media company.

It looks so much like an electric water pot.

Imitation is imitation, and they say its original “hemispherical dome”, as if Chinese people have never seen the famous Burj Al Arab Hotel.

Shanzhai Burj Al Arab Hotel, the cost of this Shanzhai product maybe is too much! And claim to be creative! How will foreigners look at us!