Attention Super Villains! Have You Ever Seen A Lair So Wicked?

Architects love building in China because they can get away with design murder: In this case, an office that looks like Blofeld’s volcano hideaway.

Don’t get me wrong. The place is awesome. Designed by Hong Kong-based One Plus Partnership, it’s a 17,000-square-foot real estate sales office in Chongqing inspired by local topography. All those rock-like formations emerging from the walls and the long slender LED lights that hang off the ceiling like glowworms are supposed to evoke the look and feel of a mountain. I’d say they succeeded mightily.

But I assume real, live humans have to work there every day, and I worry that it doesn’t make for the best working environment. Where’s the natural light? And the fresh air? And the sense that you’re living on planet Earth, not in it? I also fear that a mountain/cave office doesn’t convey quite the right message when you’re trying to push real estate, unless, of course, you happen to cater exclusively to Bond villains.

[Images courtesy of One Plus Partnership; h/t Frame]