@petersbits 7 April 2021 more from that month

CHINA BANS WEIRD BUILDINGS Dotted with some of the world's wackiest architecture, China's skyline will now officially feature less "bizarre" buildings. In a new push for "economic, green and beautiful" architecture, China's State Council released new urban planning guidelines that will prohibit the construction of "bizarre" and "odd-shaped" buildings that are devoid of character or cultural heritage. The blueprint for the development of China's new cities, which was released on Sunday, bans bizarre architecture that is "not economical, functional, aesthetically pleasing or environmentally friendly" while construction techniques that generate less waste and use fewer resources, such as the use of prefabricated buildings, will be encouraged. "The document is a wake-up call for those places where there’s has been a one-sided pursuit of architectural form over function, where cultural orientation has been compromised by an excessive desire to show off," Yang Baojun, vice director of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, was quoted by Xinhua as saying. #Architecture