# Sensory Overload Zones



## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

There is no name for what this thread is supposed to be about, but let them be called 'sensory overload zones'. What I mean is major zones in a city, usually squares or major intersections, which are full of neon lights, colorful advertisements, and giant LCD screens, etc., creating a feast of gaudy color, light and general visual stimulation that excite the soul. Famous examples are Times Square, New York, Piccadilly Circus, London, and the major intersection outside Shibuya Train Station in Tokyo. 

But besides these there are surely many more less well-known examples, so please share your pictures of these temples of urbanity 

Times Square by Mudpig









Piccadilly Circus by Gratteciel on Imageshack









Shibuya by Seph on Flickr


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## Los Earth (Jun 23, 2011)

Those are cool but why does "overload" have to be Times Square and others like it?

My city has 79,000 square feet of a whole landscape full of flowers all different colors spread all around
I feel like my eyes are actually eating what I see for it is very beautiful.


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Los Earth said:


> Those are cool but why does "overload" have to be Times Square and others like it?
> 
> My city has 79,000 square feet of a whole landscape full of flowers all different colors spread all around
> I feel like my eyes are actually eating what I see for it is very beautiful.


Well, I was more thinking about places which light up and really come into their own at night. Flowers may create this effect during the day, but once night falls they aren't visible.

Here is a square one of Guangzhou's main shopping areas, these pictures are a few years old. I don't know the name of the exact location.

(hosted on flickr)


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## krkseg1ops (Mar 19, 2009)




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## binhai (Dec 22, 2006)

Tianjin Binjiang Dao


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

*Dundas Square*









Courtesy of torontocitylife









Courtesy of torontostockphotos









Courtesy of utoronto









Courtesy of trekearth


Dundas Square on a Friday night by Brian.Nguyen, on Flickr


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

sensory overload in London is definitely not Piccadilly. It's the street markets, from the small, bustling neighbourhood ones to those that pull in hundreds of thousands in a day. Over 300 to chose from, streetlife, smells and noises are phenomenal. ON a similar vein, South bank & Soho too.

my pix


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

more


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

Chinese cities by night

Chongqing





Shanghai



















Hong Kong



















Macau

































Guangzhou


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## socrates#1fan (Jul 1, 2008)

uke:


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Somewhere in Osaka

(photos by Ukiyo, hosted on Flickr)


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## lowenmeister (Oct 1, 2012)

Guangzhou looks so damn awesome.


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## BringMe (May 7, 2011)

Buenos Aires - Argentina

Obelisk Point


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Central World Plaza, Bangkok









http://www.flickr.com/photos/superkimbo/7053204521/in/photostream/









By TheWestWing on Flickr


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

A square in Chongqing









by Fred Jansohn2012, on Flickr









By Emloto


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## Dimethyltryptamine (Aug 22, 2009)

We used to have streets here with plenty of neon signs, however, most have been pulled down as they were deemed 'dangerous' to drivers (i.e. distracting). 

In Sydney, remains the (in)famous Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross at the end of William Street









http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrenwise/7272756390/sizes/l/in/photostream/

the same street _used_ to look like this









Bronteboy


and the Young and Jackson Hotel in Melbourne..

Then and now









http://www.flickr.com/photos/demsone/7868629450/sizes/l/in/photostream/









Bronteboy

and on the opposite side of the road, Flinders Street Station was lit up like this in the 50s,









Bronteboy


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

same happened with London's Piccadilly - Leicester Square. From the 19th Century through to the 1960s the place was festooned with advertising and lights, but gradua;lly the council took them down one by one to reveal the beautiful buildings underneath. 




















Today only one corner remains


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

It's a pity really. Thought the buildings are beautiful underneath, they are common in that part of London, while that old neon extravaganza is not common. 

But it is a unique and difficult dilemma. It doesn't seem as though the other places pictured in this thread have to make such a tough choice; the lights and adverts don't seem to be concealing beautiful old buildings.


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

well tbh the old buildings are quite impressive too











and form the entrance to what is rare in London - although old buildings are fairly common, a unified street of old buildings isn't:

Regent St. This is a sensory overload zone in a different sense.


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## Dimethyltryptamine (Aug 22, 2009)

I agree that the buildings are impressive, but London has so many other, equally, if not more impressive buildings. I'd love to see Piccadilly Circus returned to its former glory, but at present it's still good. I just love big flashy neons


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

yep, maybe they can make a neon district in the East End instead, bombed out during the war and full of nondescript buildings, but a burgeoning nightlife district.


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Metro City, Shanghai









http://www.screengallery-cn.com/mai....KeywordAlbum&g2_keyword=Metro&g2_itemId=4465









http://www.bricoleurbanism.org/2009/03/page/3/









http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/shanghai/images/metro-city-xujiahui-sh-nghai$26270-10


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Somewhere in Seoul, by brianmoon85.


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Nanjing, China

















By 戊辰小管 1


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## The seventh shape (Jan 11, 2010)

Sapporo, Japan








By Droga Japonia


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