In the bustling heart of Hangzhou, China, a building known as Regent International has gone viral on TikTok, captivating viewers with its jaw-dropping size and sci-fi-like appearance. Nicknamed the “Dystopian Apartment,” this massive residential complex has become a symbol of futuristic living, both admired and criticized for its bold, unconventional design. Standing 675 feet tall and shaped like a flowing S-curve, the tower dominates the skyline of the city’s central business district.
Designed by Alicia Loo, best known for her work on Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, the building is engineered to hold up to 30,000 residents, with approximately 20,000 people currently calling it home. What sets Regent International apart is its attempt to create a fully self-sufficient community within a single structure. Spanning up to 39 stories on its tallest side, the complex functions more like a vertical city than a typical apartment block.
Inside, you’ll find an array of amenities that rival those of a small town: restaurants, grocery stores, salons, swimming pools, internet cafés, and convenience shops are all part of everyday life for residents. It’s a place where everything you need is just an elevator ride away, making it especially attractive to young professionals, university students, and online content creators. For many of them, the building offers an affordable and efficient solution to the rising cost of urban housing. Rental prices start at about $200 a month for smaller units and go up to $600 for larger ones—a bargain in a high-demand city where living space is limited and pricey. This all-in-one lifestyle has a lot of appeal, particularly to those chasing opportunity and convenience in one of China’s fastest-growing urban centers. But with praise also comes criticism.
While Regent International offers convenience and density, many worry about the implications of cramming so many people into such a confined space. Some critics say the design feels claustrophobic and lacks opportunities for outdoor recreation and personal privacy. The sheer volume of people and the building’s closed-off, self-contained structure have led some to liken it to a real-life dystopian setting straight out of a science fiction novel. The idea of living in a structure that feels more like a machine than a neighborhood has sparked debates about what people actually want and need in a home.
Despite those concerns, there’s another side to the argument. Supporters of the project see Regent International as a glimpse into the future of sustainable, high-density living. With cities around the world facing severe housing shortages, rising populations, and the environmental downsides of suburban sprawl, a building like this represents a potential path forward. Instead of expanding outward and consuming more land, urban developers could build upward and create communities that minimize their footprint while maximizing convenience and efficiency.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time such an idea has been put into practice. A similar model exists in Whittier, Alaska, where nearly the entire town lives in a single building. While much smaller in scale, Whittier’s setup mirrors some of the same values found in Regent International—compact living, shared resources, and centralized amenities. These types of living arrangements raise big questions about how people define community, freedom, and comfort in modern society. Regent International challenges the traditional notion of a neighborhood, replacing it with something that looks and feels very different. For some, that’s an exciting evolution of city life. For others, it’s a red flag signaling disconnection from nature and genuine human interaction. Regardless of where you stand in the debate, it’s impossible to ignore the impact this building has had on conversations about housing, architecture, and the future of urban living. It’s more than just a viral sensation; it’s a thought-provoking example of what could be possible—and what trade-offs we might face—as we search for better ways to house a growing global population. Whether Regent International is ultimately viewed as a visionary leap forward or a warning sign of what not to do, it has already redefined the conversation around modern housing and challenged us to reconsider how we live, what we value in our homes, and how cities might evolve in the decades to come.
