Twenty-five luxury villas have been ‘illegally’ built by developers on the roof of a Chinese shopping mall.
In China, luxury villas were constructed atop shopping malls without proper authorization. In Hengyang, Hunan province, a developer built 25 villas covering approximately 20,000 square meters on the roof of a shopping mall without government approval.
Initially slated for demolition due to their illegal status, the city government later ruled that the villas could remain, but they could not be sold.
25 luxury villas are now home to migrant workers after Chinese authorities said they were built illegally
As a result, the developer repurposed these structures into dormitories for employees and some migrant workers who were involved in their construction.
Similarly, in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, four villas were built atop the Jiutian International Square shopping mall
In Zhuzhou, Hunan province, a similar case of rooftop construction took place, but with a key difference—it was entirely legal. Four villas were built atop the Jiutian International Square shopping mall, but unlike the illegal villas in Hengyang, these structures were approved by city planners.
Unlike the Hengyang case, these structures were approved by city planners and were intended to serve as offices for the developer’s 160 real estate management employees.
Rather than serving as residential spaces, these rooftop villas were designed to function as offices for the developer’s real estate management team. Housing 160 employees, the villas offered a unique example of creative urban planning, combining workspace functionality with an unconventional location.
