Professor Zhang Lin, who built a rock-covered roof-top villa on top of a Beijing high-rise, may have to demolish his house, reports from China say.
The villa, surrounded by rocks, trees and bushes, sits on top of a 26-storey building in Beijing’s Haidian district.
State-run China Daily says it was built without the proper permissions.
Zhang Lin’s villa, surrounded by rocks, trees and bushes, sits on top of a 26-storey building in Beijing’s Haidian district
Residents of the building have told Chinese media they fear the construction of the roof-top house has made the high-rise unsafe.
China Daily identified the owner as the head of a state-run traditional medicine chain.
Citing a statement from Haidian urban management officials, it said that government approval for the house had not been obtained and so a compulsory demolition order had been filed.
Prof. Zhang Lin had 15 days to present documents proving the structure had been approved, the paper said.
Newspaper reports said other residents in the tower block had complained that the villa had damaged pipes and the structural integrity of the building.
The rocks surrounding the sprawling villa are said to be fake but the grass and trees are real.
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Zhang Lin has spent six years building his dream mountaintop villa – on top of a Beijing apartment block.
The eccentric professor shifted tons of rubble and rock onto the roof of the building to construct the outrageous home which looks like it has been carved from a mountainside.
The property even has a rocky mountain garden, complete with rubble and shrubbery.
However, Zhang Lin’s distraught neighbors are less than impressed with the project and fear the building is about to collapse.
The rooftop home, which never received planning approval, has caused cracks to appear in his neighbors’ ceilings and walls while some have had to put up with leaks from broken pipes and drains.
They have also been forced to live with the noise and disturbance caused from the building work.
One resident said their apartment is constantly flooded while another described the academic as a “menace”.
“This was originally a small attic when he bought it. But he tore that down and built this mountain on top of us,” said one.
Professor Zhang Lin has spent six years building his dream mountaintop villa on top of a Beijing apartment block
“He’s broken drains so we’re always being flooded when it rains and there are huge structural cracks in our ceiling and walls,” they added.
“He is a menace as a neighbor and he didn’t get any permission to build this monstrosity,” said another.
Zhang Lin could now be ordered to tear down his mountain penthouse if it is deemed unsafe.
“It has come to our attention that Professor Zhang did not apply for permission for this structure. So unless he can prove it is safe, it will have to come down,” explained a city official.
China is known for its crazy design and architecture.
The Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is filled with grand European buildings and wide walkways. Ornate fountains and statues also line the streets of the town.
During its construction in 2007, a replica of the Eiffel Tower standing at 108 metres was even built.
There is also a replica of a fountain from the Luxemburg Gardens in a main square called Champs Elysées.
Last year developers began building 39 Palladian mansions in a Beijing suburb at a cost of $15 million to create the country’s most expensive housing estate.
The Western-style mansions with tall columns and impressive entrances wont look out of place on a sprawling English estate.
Last month China unveiled a gigantic glowing doughnut-shaped hotel in Huzhou, near Shanghai.
The 27-storey Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort, looms over the skyline offering 321 spacious guest rooms, including 44 suites and 39 villas.
It also unveiled plans to build sky-high farms – towers in Tai Po, Hong Kong, that would grow rice, fruit and vegetables on each of the levels.
China has also laid claim to the title of the world’s largest building – the The New Century Global Center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, which could 20 Sydney Opera Houses inside.
China’s new tallest building – the 2,073ft Shanghai Tower, has also just been completed in the city’s financial district.
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