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UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]

The weird and wonderful Sanzhi Pod City, or UFO houses (on account of their flying saucer-like shape), was an abandoned resort complex in Taiwan. Pod City was marketed as a holiday resort for U.S. military personnel posted to East Asia.

The original idea for the UFOs came from Sanjhih Township plastics manufacturer Yu-chou Co. The first construction license was issued in 1978 and the idea for the design came from Matti Suuronen, an architect from Finland, but construction stopped in 1980 when Yu-chou went bankrupt.

Unfortunately his company went bankrupt in 1980 and the project work was stopped. Efforts to revive the project didn’t succeed. There were several accidents which many superstitious said were due to damage to some Chinese dragon during construction activities. Many also felt that the area was haunted. End result was that the entire township was abandoned, left uncompleted and soon became a ghost town.

Ultimately the buildings were scheduled to be torn down in late 2008, despite an petitions to retain one of the structures as a museum. It is understood that this was not agreed to and work on demolition began on 29 December 2008. The following images are a tribute to the UFO Houses in Sazhi, or the Ruins of the Future. [35 Pictures]

Hint: Use the “j” and “k” keys to jump from one picture to the next.
UFO houses2 UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: Orange
Sanzhi Pod City – abandoned two years after it was begun, it lay abandoned for 28 years before finally being torn down.  Up until that time, it was known as the mysterious “ruins of the future”. Photo Credit: Cypherone
bB9tS UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: yellow
Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world
5XDmK UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: Common area pool.
Photo Credit: Cypherone
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UFO Houses: view from inside
Due to its unusual architecture and reputation as a ghost town, its fame soon spread and it became a tourist spot but the decay continued. Photo Credit: Cypherone
5sHso UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: Common area pool
UFO houses (aka pod houses) were a set of abandoned pod-shaped colourful buildings in Sanchih (or Sanzhi), Taipei, Taiwan. Photo Credit: Cypherone
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UFO Houses: reflection in broken window
Photo Credit: Cypherone
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UFO Houses decay
Soon after, the project was abandoned in 1980 due to financial losses, lack of investment and a number of deaths during construction.   Photo Credit: Cypherone
7XjI0 UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses inside decay
Left to the mercy of time and vandalism, the deserted Santzi Pod City found itself on the tourist map because of its wacky architecture and other-worldly appearance. Photo Credit: Cypherone
zycug UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: HDR
During its dereliction, Sanzhi Pod City has served as the subject of a film and been used as a filming location by MTV.  Photo Credit: Cypherone
1jy9Y UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: view from roof
Photo Credit: Cypherone
LY8D6 UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: interior decay
Photo Credit: Cypherone
WtwME UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
Pancaked UFO House
Legend has it that the doomed resort and associated loss of life can be attributed to a Chinese dragon sculpture that was disturbed in order to widen an approach road during construction.  Photo Credit: Cypherone
CsV62 UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: Gray sky
Others suggest the site was once a burial ground for Dutch soldiers, when the Netherlands established Taiwan as a colony after 1624. Photo Credit: hsuyo
ADo1J UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: Landing pad for alien kids?
Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world
ZskRj UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
Reflecting upon UFO Houses
Long a curiosity for people driving along the north coast between Tamsui and Keelung, the “UFO” houses as they are known locally — a group of freakish looking, brightly colored, run-down buildings that were once supposed to become a holiday village — made the headlines recently following the Taipei County Government’s decision to demolish them. Photo Credit: Hsuyo
EZivi UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: A bit spooky looking
These odd, circular, frisbee-shaped houses remind many people of UFOs, hence the name. Prior to being torn down, the site was often used as a location for photographers because of its unusual atmosphere and beautiful coastal setting. Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world
085og UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: red alien skylight? 
Construction work on the compound was never finished and the site has been abandoned for nearly 30 years.  Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world

cGkFY UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]

UFO Houses: without windows look a bit like pink PacMan
Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world
JaDgl UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: not much privacy
There where oft-heard rumors that many people have seen ghosts near the complex or the high number of unexplained traffic accidents on the nearby road. Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world
SBAR9 UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: pacific sunset
One of the designers behind the UFO houses said that there were lots of rumors about the site, but most of them were false: “First of all, the site is definitely not haunted”. Photo Credit: Cypherone
Br2Yx UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: broken pipeline
There were also rumors that more than 20,000 skeletons were discovered at the site when construction work began and that it was the scene of several murders. Photo Credit: Cypherone
4watT UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: Balcony views
“It is traditional in the construction business to pay your respects to any spirits at the site of a new project before you start work. It had nothing to do with the ghost stories.” Photo Credit: Cypherone
HK2NS UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: beautiful ocean views
Photo Credit: Cypherone
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UFO Houses: red sunset
Photo Credit: Cypherone
k6Anj UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
Earth from the ISS: Lake Powell and South Western Colorado
Photo Credit: Hsuyo
UIgFm UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: ocean view
Photo Credit: Jill’s colorful world
A1KCv UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: once majestic
Photo Credit: Cypherone
fKJLl UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
UFO Houses: collapsed ceiling
They found that each UFO consisted of a reinforced concrete construction covered by fiber reinforced plastic. Earthquakes could damage such a construction and cause leaks and there was no way to fix such problems. Photo Credit: Cypherone
1dlJQ UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
Nothing remains of the UFO Houses
Despite an online petition to restore one of the buildings as a museum, Sanzhi Pod City demolition work began on Dec. 29. 2008  Photo Credit: Cypherone
0A1ZH UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]
Google Street view of UFO Houses
Photo Credit: Google



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3 Responses to UFO Houses, Ruins of the Future, now just a memory [30 Pics]

  1. StockC September 25, 2011 at 10:22 pm #

    Such a sad collection of photos! “Like” them on Facebook? No, not at all!

  2. petaqui September 29, 2011 at 12:19 am #

    WOW, wonderful pics!

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