South Korea Plans Hashtag-Inspired Skyscraper

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South Korea Plans Hashtag-Inspired Skyscraper

Posted by samzenpus on Monday May 7, 2012 @12:49AM from the ampersand-estates dept.

cylonlover writes "The hashtag or "#" symbol has taken on a lot more use in recent years, especially with the rise of social media tools like Twitter, where it's used to highlight popular topics. So in a way, it's a fitting model for an apartment building designed to act as a self-contained neighborhood, which is exactly the idea behind the Cross # Towers planned for South Korea. Dutch architectural firm, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), is modeling the look of the proposed building after the familiar symbol, by placing two interlocking bridges between two skyscrapers, which will also support outdoor park areas to mimic the sort of spaces you'd normally find on the ground."

117 comments

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I applied by commlinx · 2012-05-07 00:54 · Score: 4, Funny

But apparently 140 other characters got in before me :/
1. Re:I applied by Joce640k · 2012-05-07 01:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  In other news, a solitary hash symbol is now called a "hashtag"
  
  --
  No sig today...
2. Re:I applied by Sarten-X · 2012-05-07 01:16 · Score: 2
  
  Of course... with a word after them, they become "channels".
  
  --
  You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
3. Re:I applied by Arancaytar · 2012-05-07 01:27 · Score: 1
  
  Indeed, and then people could use these "channels" to "chat" via some kind of... internet relay or something. I hope that isn't patented yet.
4. Re:I applied by Barefoot+Monkey · 2012-05-07 01:32 · Score: 2
  
  That's what caught my attention from the summary as well. Referring to hashes as "hashtag symbols" is rather circular. What's next - hashtagsymboltag symbol?
5. Re:I applied by gstrickler · 2012-05-07 01:56 · Score: 1
  
  That's better than "octothorpe" and some of it's other names.
  
  --
  make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
6. Re:I applied by FunkDup · 2012-05-07 02:14 · Score: 1
  
  "hashtag symbols" is rather circular
  Curiously, "Hash Inspired Skyscraper" is also circular, and yet "The Hash Inspired Skyscraper" is anything but circular.
  
  --
  Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds -- Albert Einstein
7. Re:I applied by gparent · 2012-05-07 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  Curiously, "Hash Inspired Skyscraper" is also circular, and yet "The Hash Inspired Skyscraper" is anything but circular.
  Ever tried designing a building after taking hash? It never ends up circular...
8. Re:I applied by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:44 · Score: 0
  
  It does if you're going for a cuboid shape.
9. Re:I applied by hey! · 2012-05-07 02:49 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  You just don't know how architects are indoctrinated^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H trained to think.
  A building doesn't exist in isolation, it is part of a dialog with its environment, particularly other buildings. The building itself isn't a hash tag -- it's a hash sign; it *converts the buildings around it into hashtags*, thus calling attention to the fact that the implied statements of their architecture *are indeed statements*. This building is a postmodern sigil. Obviously the architect of this thing must be an a**hole. Who does he think he is, reifing the semiotic implicatures of other architects' work?
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
10. Re:I applied by ArsonSmith · 2012-05-07 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  No comment?
  Didn't mean to bash this conversation but it was a real perl of a joke right?
  
  --
  Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
11. Re:I applied by CanHasDIY · 2012-05-07 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  Whatever happened to calling it the pound sign? Or is that just a telecom thing?
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
12. Re:I applied by SuricouRaven · 2012-05-07 04:20 · Score: 2
  
  It's called a pound symbol because ASCII (And the character sets that once competed) didn't have a £ symbol. They were designed in the US, and with only seven bits to work with there was no room for symbols with little use in that country like accented characters and non-dollar currencies. So until the coming of unicode and other means of character encoding, typing a £ in the UK tended to break things - the only way to represent it was the upper-ascii character that not all software supported. The workaround was very simple: People used a # symbol in place of the £ and shouted curses about stupid selfish yanks.
  
  To this day, when I am using MUCKs, I cannot send a £ symbol. The software, written long before unicode, simply drops the character as invalid.
13. Re:I applied by seringen · 2012-05-07 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  Well, it is Bjarke Ingels Group, and they are well known as one of the most ridiculous and craven of architecture firms. He's been pining to do a huge asian project forever. His brand of thinking-free post modernity shouldn't reflect too poorly on architects or postmodernity or anyone with half a clue. He's popular because he has some hilarious branding...
14. Re:I applied by lsamaha · 2012-05-07 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  If you have it right, then Wikipedia has it wrong. "Historically, the pound name derives from a series of abbreviations for pound, the unit of weight." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign
15. Re:I applied by SuricouRaven · 2012-05-07 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  The name does appear to predate the use as a substitute-£ by a long way, which I was not aware of, but aside from that everything I said about its use as a workaround for limited pre-unicode character sets is true.
16. Re:I applied by jbengt · 2012-05-07 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  "#" was used as a symbol for pound (force and mass, but not money) before I ever heard of ASCII.
  It has also been used as a symbol for "number" for as long as I can remember. (I can remember back to the '60s)
  Those two are also the most popular names for "#" in my experience.
17. Re:I applied by julesh · 2012-05-07 06:18 · Score: 1
  
  It's called a pound symbol because ASCII (And the character sets that once competed) didn't have a £ symbol. They were designed in the US, and with only seven bits to work with there was no room for symbols with little use in that country like accented characters and non-dollar currencies. So until the coming of unicode and other means of character encoding, typing a £ in the UK tended to break things - the only way to represent it was the upper-ascii character that not all software supported.
  You seem to have it the wrong way round. The placement of £ at ASCII 35 in some early UK computer systems is, I am led to believe, based on a misreading of the ASCII standard based on the fact that it used the then already common (in the US) term "pound sign" to refer to the hash.
  
  People used a # symbol in place of the £ and shouted curses about stupid selfish yanks.
  No, we actually had computers that couldn't manage to produce a # symbol, and printed £ instead. To this day, if you have an Epson-compatible printer (which many of the printers used in POS systems, for example, still are), you can send it ^[R3 to cause it to make this substitution.
  
  To this day, when I am using MUCKs, I cannot send a £ symbol. The software, written long before unicode, simply drops the character as invalid.
  You're lucky it's even that smart. I've worked with systems that will drop the *connection* if they encounter a character > 128.
18. Re:I applied by xaxa · 2012-05-07 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  Whatever happened to calling it the pound sign? Or is that just a telecom thing?
  It's called "hash" in British English (and probably Australia, NZ, etc). I've never heard it called anything else here.
  "Pound" might mean money or old-fashioned weight. "Pound sign" "pound key" will always mean £, since the weight is always written "lb".
  And here it's always "Item No. 3" rather than "Item #3".
19. Re:I applied by CanHasDIY · 2012-05-07 09:57 · Score: 1
  
  One poster mentioned something about it being used because there wasn't an ASCII character for the British unit of currency, but that explanation doesn't really fit this particular situation; Here in the US, Bell Labs (the "mafia enforcer" wing of Ma Bell's telco monopoly, back in the day), always referred to it as a "pound" sign for reasons I don't really care enough to find out...
  
  Probably just another piece of tech stolen by laying siege to a small town university, like they did with touch-tones.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
20. Re:I applied by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 10:53 · Score: 0
  
  I've given blowjobs for things far less awesome than your post.
21. Re:I applied by xaxa · 2012-05-07 11:11 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think enough people in the UK would have been using computers back before they could reliably produce "£" for it to affect the language. It was easy to localise a computer for something like this -- at worst, just change the picture on the keyboard and the font bitmap for the corresponding character on the output device.
  In Britain if people can't type £ they generally write "pounds", GBP, UKP, L or even $. Writing # makes no more sense than using &, * or @. (Except, perhaps, that # has no meaning at all.)
22. Re:I applied by crutchy · 2012-05-09 20:18 · Score: 1
  
  please don't give this guy a blowjob
How long by SJHillman · 2012-05-07 00:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

How long before someone hacks it to play a giant game of tic-tac-toe?
1. Re:How long by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:19 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  How long before Microsoft buys adjacent land to build a similarly-sized "C" tower?
2. Re:How long by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:55 · Score: 0
  
  Ain't gonna happen.
  Don't get me wrong. They'll try.
  But all the Linux-users, who think they've got root-access to the building, will keep them away.
3. Re:How long by KiloByte · 2012-05-07 02:03 · Score: 1
  
  Considering they can't tell the difference between the hash/number sign and sharp, I wouldn't want to come anywhere near that skyscraper.
  
  --
  The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
4. Re:How long by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:11 · Score: 0
  
  Huh? hash and sharp are the same symbol. In professional musical notation, the sharp is angled slightly differently, but on computers everyone uses the hash in its place, since they are nearly identical and there's no better symbol in the standard character sets.
5. Re:How long by icebraining · 2012-05-07 02:39 · Score: 1
  
  Unicode isn't a standard character set? Have we gone back to the 80s?
  
  --
  Dilbert RSS feed
6. Re:How long by KiloByte · 2012-05-07 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, Unicode became a widely implemented standard only in the first few years of this millennium. And while for most of the world the replacement is complete, there are a few shameless places that still use ancient charsets. Fix it, Microsoft and Slashdot!
  
  --
  The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
7. Re:How long by crutchy · 2012-05-09 20:37 · Score: 1
  
  all the Linux-users, who think they've got root-access to the building, will keep them away
  its overgenerous to assume linux users have the power to block anything microsoft does by merely thinking they have root access
  at least if they actually had root access it would imply some sort of authority
"Dutch" as in "Danish"? by phloe · 2012-05-07 00:58 · Score: 4, Informative

BIG are danish... not like the cake (which is a lie anyways)
1. Re:"Dutch" as in "Danish"? by KozmoStevnNaut · 2012-05-07 19:11 · Score: 1
  
  It's even right there in both articles. How slow do you have to get to mess that up?
  Oh right. Slashdot.
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
Wow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 00:58 · Score: 0

This is the most exquisitely retarded thing I've heard in a long time.
1. Re:Wow by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-05-07 01:09 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  This is the most exquisitely retarded thing I've heard in a long time.
  It would utterly fail to surprise me if this 'hashtag inspired' thing is not so much the original plan(Hey guys! Let's substantially reduce the salable volume of the building, while making the engineering more complex and the construction potentially more expensive!) as a creative justification for design choices enforced by some mixture of local zoning requirements concerning density, light-blocking, or other building/city integration variables and the customer's desire to have a particular mixture of interior and windowed space to sell...
  
  You don't generally deviate from building a big box covered in glass just because you are that enthusiastic about twitter or whatnot, you do it because you can't get away with putting up a big box covered in glass. The artistic side of architecture demands that there be an aesthetic 'concept' for the design, to go along with the renders and the scale model display; but it comes down to being an optimization problem in the face of local constraints...
2. Re:Wow by Jeng · 2012-05-07 02:04 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Yep, even mentioned in tfa.
  
  Originally the designers wanted to build just two incredibly tall towers, but height restrictions forced them to get creative. They essentially lopped several floors off of their original specs and reused them as bridges, giving the whole structure a unique look that will stand out among the Seoul skyline.
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
3. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 03:25 · Score: 0
  
  You don't honestly believe the (dutch) habit of justifying absurd forms with superficial hyperrational sound bites do you?
  Architects like BIG use the language of corporations and politicians to justify outrageous buildings. The arguments are only superficially rational and really an excuse to do wierd shapes. It relies on stupid and uncritical clients and politicians. Calling it creative is nonsense because it's just different, being different is easy as all you need to do is propose stuff noone else have and come up with a saleable rationale.
  The success of companies like BIG comes from their uncritical engagement with our society. Their buildings are certainly appropriate symbols of our time as they reveal a complete lack of intelligence and serious thought. Witty sound bite architecture is what it is.
4. Re:Wow by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-05-07 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  It depends on what you mean by 'believe'.
  
  Do I believe in the conceptual verbiage? No. I view that as a part of the marketing effort that goes into getting one design adopted over another(and, possibly, an honest reflection of the designer's thought process, possibly not; it could be that their solution to a particular set of design constraints was, psychologically, inspired by the 'concept'. It could also be that an entirely different person rationalized the design after the fact. Hard to say and not terribly relevant.)
  
  However, I do believe that this game of aesthetic and conceptual rationalization is, undeniably, part of the process by which architecture gets done. Designs have to be 'sold', both within an architecture firm to coworkers and bosses, and to customers in order to be built. Since the buildings that actually exist are the ones that were successfully pitched, it is very likely that most of the newer ones have this 'conceptual' package produced for them at some point, likely along with some nice little scale models of the area, high-quality prints of 3D rendering from a variety of angles, and similar.
5. Re:Wow by crutchy · 2012-05-09 20:40 · Score: 1
  
  ...not to mentioned ridiculous architectural designs keeps people like me (structural engineers) employed :)
BIG is danish, not dutch by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 00:58 · Score: 0

Bjarne Ingels Group is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. http://big.dk
Zergs!! by blackicye · 2012-05-07 00:58 · Score: 2

This skyscraper will probably have a Protoss tower nearby, powering it.
A small note by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:00 · Score: 0

Just a small note, Bjarke Ingels Group is danish. Their rather well-designed website is big.dk, where I have spent quite some time playing with sorting their projects by various categories.
1. Re:A small note by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:29 · Score: 1
  
  Their rather well-designed website is big.dk...
  Only if by "well-designed", you mean a website that's consists of one page, where the lower 2/3 of that page seems to be random words in ALL CAPS thrown together without any order or meaning whatsoever.
  A site that depends on Flash shouldn't be called "well-designed". EVER!
By the time it's built... by coinreturn · 2012-05-07 01:05 · Score: 1

The hashtag symbol will probably be passe by the time they finish the building.
1. Re:By the time it's built... by operagost · 2012-05-07 02:07 · Score: 1
  
  Nonsense. And I said the same to everyone who protested my selection of avocado color-coordinated appliances.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
2. Re:By the time it's built... by unitron · 2012-05-07 15:10 · Score: 1
  
  And those 40 some odd year old avacado colored appliances are probably still running better than ones made in the last 10 years.
  
  --
  I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Hashtag?! "Dutch"?! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:07 · Score: 1

What is wrong with you?
Welcome to the Octothorpe! by NotQuiteReal · 2012-05-07 01:13 · Score: 1

Hmm, living in an octothorpe sounds like you might be looking for a fight. At least hashtag seems like you might get some down home cooking.

--
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Dutch and Hash-Inspired . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2012-05-07 01:14 · Score: 1

. . . sounds about right to me.
Especially, since the architectural firm is Danish. Hash sometimes does that to you.

--
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
It's also called an octothorpe by QuietLagoon · 2012-05-07 01:16 · Score: 2

The hashtag or "#" symbol is also called an octothorpe.
1. Re:It's also called an octothorpe by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:52 · Score: 0
  
  Which makes hash-shaped building designed to act as a self-contained neighborhood... an octothorcology!
# is comments not twitter by vlm · 2012-05-07 01:17 · Score: 0

Who owns #? My theory is twitter does not.
Twitter is a world wide service for mobile phone owners.
World population is about 7 billion.
According to wikipedia: "In February 2010, there were 5.6 billion mobile phone subscribers, a number that is expected to grow." This seems bogus high... there are people in 1st world with both business and personal phones, of course, but that would imply there are people who have no food, no water, no shelter, no medical care, yet pay a monthly phone subscription fee. hmm.
So somewhere around 70% of the worlds population is theoretically a possible twitter user. Lets see how much of that 70% use twitter.
Most popular twitter account is lady gaga with 23 million.
So somewhere around a third of one percent of the worlds population follows lady gaga on twitter.
I'm REALLY unimpressed. The most important and influential web 2.0 company is used by ... practically no one. The emperor has no clothes!
I search google for "IT worker count worldwide" and the third hit to come up is wikipedia's "Discouraged worker" article, which says a lot and is a whole nother story.
Anyway what I'm trying to figure out is how 23 million compares to the number of worldwide programmers/sysadmins/unix users. I theorize that "we" as /. readers own the "#" not twitter. My theory is there are more people that type #!/bin/bash on a daily basis that send tweets on a daily basis. Daily basis is important... I technically have a twitter account, I sent about 2 tweets, subscribed to some morons and some PR agents fronting for some media people, watched for awhile, said WTF is this and never used it again. I would assume this is a rather large fraction of their "subscribers".
This has certain artistic implications for a # skyscraper. Like it needs a neckbeard, or suspenders, or a penguin themed radio antenna on top holding a wifi pringles can... Its not a twitter building because basically no one uses twitter, they're a rounding error.
I will give them credit that there are more twitter users than Intercal programmers using the # operator. Of course if you calculate the sum of the IQs of the two groups the ratio probably narrows a bit..

--
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
1. Re:# is comments not twitter by dontclapthrowmoney · 2012-05-07 01:25 · Score: 1
  
  I technically have a twitter account, I sent about 2 tweets, subscribed to some morons and some PR agents fronting for some media people, watched for awhile, said WTF is this and never used it again. I would assume this is a rather large fraction of their "subscribers".
  You've just described my google+ experience so far.
2. Re:# is comments not twitter by vlm · 2012-05-07 01:48 · Score: 1
  
  You've just described my google+ experience so far.
  Ahh but see
  
  I'm REALLY unimpressed. The most important and influential web 2.0 company is used by ... practically no one. The emperor has no clothes!
  The situation is similar, yet the G+ gets endless trash talking about how irrelevant it is and twitter gets endless trash talking about how important and influential it is. That is the difference.
  I've given up on figuring out a world wide IT/programmer counts. Best I could figure is github is well over a million users (not projects, but registered user count), we'll say that twitter is at most only 20 times more influential than github... however... there are a lot more programmers than github users.
  I think I have enough circumstantial data that I can comfortably stand by my claim that there are more # using programmers than # using twits.
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
3. Re:# is comments not twitter by dontclapthrowmoney · 2012-05-07 02:25 · Score: 1
  
  I was under the impression that the hash tag is used by twits (tweeters? twitterers?) to tag other users in posts/tweets/whatever they are called.
  So you might be right that there are more # using programmers than # using twits, on a "unique users" basis, but I think they have you beat on frequency. For every time a programmer using the # symbol once, there are probably 1000 twitter users using the # symbol in a post talking about Ashton Kucher's bowel movements, or something else equally discussion-worthy.
  (I'm not exactly sure when a # symbol is used by someone on twitter, I've used twitter even less than G+. They are all tools to achieve specific outcomes, so far I haven't had a need that either one met.)
4. Re:# is comments not twitter by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 03:06 · Score: 0
  
  No, # is used to mark topics, @ is used to mark users. Thus a typical post on twitter might look like...
  
  I was jst abt 2 mk tht jk, @SillyPoopHead, nao i hv nthing clevr 2 say!! #fml #stolenjokes #whitepeopleproblems #freekevin #hashtagsaregreat
5. Re:# is comments not twitter by julesh · 2012-05-07 06:28 · Score: 1
  
  Not a twitter user either, but from what I've seen # identifies a topic keywork, @ identifies another user.
  Twitter just stole the character from IRC, anyway. I suggest everyone who used the Internet before about 1996 gets together and demands it back.
6. Re:# is comments not twitter by crutchy · 2012-05-09 20:44 · Score: 1
  
  maybe borland should have sued port authority of new york for building the twin towers, since // is/was synonymous with their compilers (borland coming after the twin towers is of course just a technicality)
sharp by Augmento · 2012-05-07 01:18 · Score: 1

in korea, they call this the sharp symbol. so, sharp just sounds like a cool name for apartment complexes. there are several complexes all over the country built by posco (i think) with the # symbol on them.
further, many complexes, like the daewoo trump complex i lived in had an elevated playground and fitness center. so, while this is a kind of neat variation. it is hardly news.
1. Re:sharp by EnempE · 2012-05-07 17:02 · Score: 1
  
  This is 100% on the money. Those with Mods, please get this read. There are a number of building projects here with # pronounced sharp here in Korea. Most people know the symbol from their music education, for notating a sharp note e.g A#. Koreans are well aware of the slang use of sharp in English, but are not really concerned with how it is generally used. So 'The #' means something classy, stylish, and well designed in Konglish. This would have nothing to do with Twitter, or it would be called #tower and not # Tower.
OFF TOPIC: How do you mod up or down? by postofreason · 2012-05-07 01:18 · Score: 0, Offtopic

I have done a Google search ("how to" OR "how do you" OR "how do I") ("mod up" OR "mod down") on slashdot and searched on the page, but I can't figure out how to do it. I am signed in. TIA,
1. Re:OFF TOPIC: How do you mod up or down? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:30 · Score: 1
  
  If you have mod points, there's a drop-down box on each post, where for instance some people may look at your post and select "-1 offtopic".
  Beyond that, relax - if you don't have mod points, don't worry about it. I find them distracting anyway when I'd rather just read and occasionally post, when I have them it changes the experience negatively. I'd prefer to be able to opt out of moderation but haven't found a way of doing so.
2. Re:OFF TOPIC: How do you mod up or down? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:37 · Score: 0
  
  I'd prefer to be able to opt out of moderation but haven't found a way of doing so.
  Yes, you have. Just keep posting as an AC.
3. Re:OFF TOPIC: How do you mod up or down? by Jeng · 2012-05-07 02:06 · Score: 1
  
  Here is a link to the FAQ, it should answer that as well as other questions you might have.
  http://slashdot.org/faq
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
4. Re:OFF TOPIC: How do you mod up or down? by postofreason · 2012-05-07 07:29 · Score: 0
  
  Many thanks.
Update me when they build the @ by retroworks · 2012-05-07 01:20 · Score: 1

LOL, The semicolon, apostrophe and exclamation point pose special challenges

--
Gently reply
1. Re:Update me when they build the @ by gstrickler · 2012-05-07 02:17 · Score: 1
  
  Those are all easy, as long as you're ok with viewing them from above.
  
  --
  make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
2. Re:Update me when they build the @ by ArsonSmith · 2012-05-07 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  They could do them all in a row and it'd look like the city was swearing at you. #;'!@%
  
  --
  Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Back in my day... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:23 · Score: 0

Back in my day hashtags had to do with IRC!
1. Re:Back in my day... by stderr_dk · 2012-05-07 01:44 · Score: 2
  
  Back in my day hashtags had to do with IRC!
  You must be new here.
  # clearly has to do with the C preprocessor.
  Or it indicates that you're logged in as root.
  Or that you're about to start a nice game of Tic-Tac-Toe to stop the game of Global Thermonuclear War on the WOPR.
  Or all of the above...
  
  --
  alias sudo="echo make it yourself #" ; # https://pipedot.org/~stderr & http://soylentnews.org/~stderr
2. Re:Back in my day... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:50 · Score: 0
  
  Sure, but the hashtag wasn't used in "communications" purpose in those examples.
The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Comboman · 2012-05-07 01:29 · Score: 5, Funny

This is just the latest in a long line of punctuation-inspired architecture:
^ Pyramids
/ Leaning Tower of Pisa
~ Guggenheim Museum
|| World Trade Center

--
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
1. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by thomas8166 · 2012-05-07 02:41 · Score: 1
  
  Then I'd really want to see one inspired by ':'...antigravity isn't easy :)
  
  --
  I make hardware RNGs, which give 2.5849625 bits of entropy per use in theory (actual performance dependent on usage).
2. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:42 · Score: 0
  
  * many 19th century prisons and forts. Before they had video cameras, an asterisk-like prison layout made it possible for guards in the center to see all the cell blocks.
3. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:59 · Score: 0
  
  +1 GOD AMONGST MEN
4. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Pope · 2012-05-07 03:03 · Score: 1
  
  World Trade Center towers, as viewed from above :)
  
  --
  It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
5. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by damien_kane · 2012-05-07 03:12 · Score: 1
  
  Then I'd really want to see one inspired by ':'...antigravity isn't easy :)
  That problem can be solved much easier than a working antigravity solution (which would most likely require considerable amounts of power to maintain a 1G acceleration away from the planet, while maintaining slightly higher than surface rotational acceleration)
  
  They could simply connect the upper and lower portions of the building via a set of poles in the 4th dimension.
6. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 03:37 · Score: 0
  
  And don't forget:
  H - Petronas Towers
  A - Eiffel Tower
  x - Eiffel Tower as viewed from above
  O - Colosseum
  i - Big ben
  () - 30 St Mary Axe
7. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by SuricouRaven · 2012-05-07 04:26 · Score: 1
  
  O Fang Yuan Building
  
  ± Most churches.
8. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Anubis+IV · 2012-05-07 04:35 · Score: 1
  
  Man, I'd hate to see the building inspired by the &.
9. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Frank+T.+Lofaro+Jr. · 2012-05-07 05:53 · Score: 1
  
  This comes to mind
  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ruvo%20brain%20center
  The Ruvo Brain Center in Las Vegas
  
  --
  Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
10. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 06:18 · Score: 0
  
  __ Post 9/11 WTC
11. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by Jesus_666 · 2012-05-07 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  I'm fairly certain that the Winchester Mansion looked like that at some point. At least on the inside.
  
  --
  USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
12. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by DSS11Q13 · 2012-05-07 19:46 · Score: 1
  
  This probably makes me an bad human being. But I imagined a terrorist trying to fly a plane into the # building and flying right through it. Not only is it relevant to my social media lifestyle, it's also terror resistant!
13. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by crutchy · 2012-05-09 20:53 · Score: 1
  
  i think "poles" in the 4th dimension are called axioms
  
  in poland it may be different though
14. Re:The latest punctuation-inspired architecture by crutchy · 2012-05-09 20:58 · Score: 1
  
  B - toilet (not a building on its own unless outdoors, but definitely architectural)
  . - just about every building
  _ - just about every other building
  = - every two story building
What they're not telling you... by SailorSpork · 2012-05-07 01:34 · Score: 1

...is that it's the first in a series of buildings to be built over the next 20 years. The next 4 are inspires by the letters ""L", "U", "L", and "Z".
or the "pound" sign by Comboman · 2012-05-07 01:35 · Score: 2

I've always called it the "number sign", but most voice mail systems refer to it as the "pound key" for some reason.

--
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
1. Re:or the "pound" sign by julesh · 2012-05-07 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  I've always called it the "number sign", but most voice mail systems refer to it as the "pound key" for some reason.
  Except in the UK, where they tend to refer to it as "square". Which is perhaps even more bizarre.
  # was used as an abbreviation of "pound" because, I believe, it is considered to vaguely resemble the letters "lb", which are a common abbreviation of "libra", which is Latin for "pounds".
2. Re:or the "pound" sign by xaxa · 2012-05-07 09:38 · Score: 1
  
  Except in the UK, where they tend to refer to it as "square". Which is perhaps even more bizarre.
  Do you live here? I've only ever heard it called "hash".
  (Worst citation ever: A UK Yahoo! answers post: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091206143109AAzb2iQ repeating the "joke" "For drugs, press the hash key.")
Utter hash by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 01:49 · Score: 0

Hopefully they don't make a complete hash of it.
Bad news for neighbors by GameboyRMH · 2012-05-07 02:02 · Score: 4, Funny

All other buildings on the street will be disabled when this is finished...

--
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Pound symbol by AbrasiveCat · 2012-05-07 02:07 · Score: 0

Folks, This should be in the United States! It is the symbol of the overweight American.
Safety first!!! by Breakable · 2012-05-07 02:09 · Score: 1

Kids playing 200m above the ground - groundbreaking idea... In other news: admins like to delete anything critical on their blog.
Not Creative by jimmerz28 · 2012-05-07 02:10 · Score: 2

"Originally the designers wanted to build just two incredibly tall towers, but height restrictions forced them to get creative."
So originally it was boring as hell. It's sad that "designers" have to be forced to be creative.
1. Re:Not Creative by SuricouRaven · 2012-05-07 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  Plain old towers are as close to optimal as you're going to get in terms of useable space per land area and useable space per unit cost. It's also a very extensively tested method safety-wise, and doesn't require overhangs. Why build anything else if you don't have to?
2. Re:Not Creative by jimmerz28 · 2012-05-07 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  Because I'd like to have a city which inspires and innovates, not one made of toothpicks that bores and tires.
3. Re:Not Creative by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 07:48 · Score: 0
  
  Get the fuck out of the city, then -- cities are about cramming people close together, not about inspiring and innovating. Try a hippy weed-farm commune...
This article got me wondering.... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:11 · Score: 0

... could a person's name legally be punctuation? Like, %, !, or @?
1. Re:This article got me wondering.... by Jeng · 2012-05-07 02:51 · Score: 1
  
  Close enough.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
2. Re:This article got me wondering.... by rbenson · 2012-05-07 02:54 · Score: 1
  
  Prince had his name changed to a symbol that wasn't even punctuation, or pronounceable.
  So... I would say that yes, it is legally possible.
3. Re:This article got me wondering.... by Pope · 2012-05-07 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  Freur beat him too it.
  
  --
  It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
# Means Channel ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:19 · Score: 1

'#' Means "Channel" to me. Always has, always will. I am of an age where that's what I learned and lived, and that means I am now too old to be able to change!
1. Re:# Means Channel ! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-09 21:10 · Score: 0
  
  :- means penis to me
  
  :------ means bigger penis
  
  * means bum hole
  
  (i) means... i'm sure you get the idea
  
  * :-------- (i) *
What about ./ by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 02:30 · Score: 0

When are they going to build one with slashdot's trademanrk? - ./
1. Re:What about ./ by Thud457 · 2012-05-07 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  Already been built, in Pisa.
  
  --
  the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
2. Re:What about ./ by Tablizer · 2012-05-07 07:38 · Score: 1
  
  Just get somebody chubby to stand on the left side of Pisa.
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
"hashtag" symbol? Really? by flimflammer · 2012-05-07 02:40 · Score: 3, Interesting

Since when is the symbol called "hashtag"?
Improvement over MVRDV's "Twin Towers" by Arakageeta · 2012-05-07 03:13 · Score: 1

I suppose this is an improvement over a design from another Dutch firm for residential towers in South Korea: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072308/MVRDV-architects-reveal-plans-South-Korean-buildings-look-eerily-like-Twin-Towers-exploding.html
open spaces on 40th floor by hackertourist · 2012-05-07 04:17 · Score: 1

The open spaces they mention seem a bad idea to me. At that altitude the wind is much stronger than on the ground. Even in good weather, you'd be sitting in a gale up there.
jobs on line by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-07 04:23 · Score: 0

like Elaine answered I cant believe that a stay at home mom able to get paid $4071 in one month on the computer. did you see this site makecash16.com
Perl City by Tablizer · 2012-05-07 07:36 · Score: 1

When they finish the ASCII set, it will be called Perl City.
Lisp City has a lot of nested bridges.

--
Table-ized A.I.
Obviously the person who drew these pictures by crossmr · 2012-05-07 11:23 · Score: 1

has never been to Korea.
The close-up of the kids running and playing doesn't remotely begin to approach the density that is going to exist if that opens here. Not to mention when is the last time a kid played with one of those round things and a stick?
Corbusier by amh99 · 2012-05-07 21:54 · Score: 1

If this is supposed to be like a self-contained neighbourhood, then it's "just" Corbusier over again.