San-Zhr Pod Village

 

Magda Biernat, San-Zhr Pod Village, Danshui, Taiwan, 2008

Magda Biernat's Continental Bounce exhibit comprises photographs from her travels around the world, but all I can focus on is this delapitated "pod village" that apparently exists in present-day Taiwan and does not, in fact, house the Jetsons.

As it turns out, the pod village was also photographed by Craig Ferguson, who explains the eerie origins of the place:

Accounts vary on the origins of this complex, and indeed, as to whether it was meant to be a hotel development or a housing development. Apparently, it was constructed in the 1960s and included/was to include a dam to protect it against sea surges, floors and stairs made of marble and a small amusement park. The site was commissioned by the government and local firms and there is no named architect. Local papers at the time reported that there were numerous accidents during construction which caused the death of some workers. As news of these accidents spread, no one wanted to go there, even to visit, and the project was subsequently abandoned. The ghosts of those who died in vain are said to still linger there, unremembered and unable to pass on. The complex was left in its unfinished state because no amount of redevelopment will bring people to the area due to superstitions about ghosts, and it can’t be demolished because destroying the homes of spirits and lost souls is taboo in Asian culture.

Amazing! I want to rehab the place and live there, ghosts and all!

[photos via Craig Ferguson]