James Law Cybertecture, the firm behind the concrete tube micro-homes, is nearing completion on another unusual project called The Pad. Located in Dubai, the building's eye-catching design is intended to resemble an iPod in its charging dock.
Hong Kong-based James Law Cybertecture originally designed the residential building for an architecture competition over a decade ago, beating high-profile firms like Zaha Hadid Architects and Foster + Partners. However, though construction began in 2007, economic issues put the brakes on the project. Work started again in 2013 and it's now almost complete.
The building rises to 26 floors and includes 256 apartments, ranging from small studio apartments to three bedroom duplexes. According to James Law Cybertecture, its design is directly inspired by Apple's iPod and it leans at a 6.5 degree angle to reference the way an iPod would lean when standing in its charging dock.
The Pad will offer well-heeled residents quite a lot of smart home amenities once it opens sometime later this year, including biometric locks, smart lighting, some unspecified method of voice control, and James Law Cybertecture's health-monitoring mirrors.
This isn't the first building we've seen to be inspired by modern tech. Amsterdam's Attika Architekten also adorned a mixed-use Netherlands building with 22 emoji.
Source: James Law Cybertecture
Emoji are not examples of tech. They are artistic communication using tech.