Dai's 'egg' house is whisked away
By Yang Jian |
December 6, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A HOME-MADE, egg-shaped mobile home set up in Beijing by an office worker shocked at rising property prices has been moved.
The property management company at the compound where Dai Haifei kept his unusual home told the Beijing News yesterday that the structure broke the rules and also that the flocks of reporters coming to interview Dai about it disturbed others working in the compound.
A colleague of Dai's told the newspaper that the move was also because of the approaching winter. The colleague, who didn't want to be named, also said Dai felt under pressure from online comments claiming he was just trying to seek publicity.
The colleague said Dai would temporarily live with friends.
Taken aback by rocketing house prices in Beijing, Dai, 24, from Hunan Province, who works for a Beijing architectural firm, used his professional knowledge to build the 2-meter-high home on wheels using thousands of bamboo strips. He parked it in his firm's compound, where he could get water and electricity for free, and slept inside. It cost him 6,400 yuan (US$960).
"We do admire Dai's creativity, but no temporary buildings can be built in the compound according to the rules," a property management official said. He added that too many reporters had been attracted to the architectural firm that had many "confidential projects."
Dai along with about 10 colleagues and property management staff loaded the home on to a truck about 8pm on Friday and it was driven away, a worker in a nearby canteen told the newspaper. It was not known where it was being taken.
Dai said previously that he faced a constant struggle with urban management officials who wanted him to leave. He often had to push his home blocks away and return once the officials had gone.
The latest episode in the saga attracted a lot of attention online with many comments supporting Dai and praising the "egg" as a solution to rocketing housing prices. Many people said they also wanted to build similar egg-shaped homes.
Dai reckoned his home, which had a bed, a water tank and a battery-powered lamp, could save him more than 1,500 yuan in rent a month.
The property management company at the compound where Dai Haifei kept his unusual home told the Beijing News yesterday that the structure broke the rules and also that the flocks of reporters coming to interview Dai about it disturbed others working in the compound.
A colleague of Dai's told the newspaper that the move was also because of the approaching winter. The colleague, who didn't want to be named, also said Dai felt under pressure from online comments claiming he was just trying to seek publicity.
The colleague said Dai would temporarily live with friends.
Taken aback by rocketing house prices in Beijing, Dai, 24, from Hunan Province, who works for a Beijing architectural firm, used his professional knowledge to build the 2-meter-high home on wheels using thousands of bamboo strips. He parked it in his firm's compound, where he could get water and electricity for free, and slept inside. It cost him 6,400 yuan (US$960).
"We do admire Dai's creativity, but no temporary buildings can be built in the compound according to the rules," a property management official said. He added that too many reporters had been attracted to the architectural firm that had many "confidential projects."
Dai along with about 10 colleagues and property management staff loaded the home on to a truck about 8pm on Friday and it was driven away, a worker in a nearby canteen told the newspaper. It was not known where it was being taken.
Dai said previously that he faced a constant struggle with urban management officials who wanted him to leave. He often had to push his home blocks away and return once the officials had gone.
The latest episode in the saga attracted a lot of attention online with many comments supporting Dai and praising the "egg" as a solution to rocketing housing prices. Many people said they also wanted to build similar egg-shaped homes.
Dai reckoned his home, which had a bed, a water tank and a battery-powered lamp, could save him more than 1,500 yuan in rent a month.
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