1. Building design I'm a little bit confused about the use octet shapes used in palaces: - are they used on microlevel, inside the panels e.g.), - used in iparts of construction, which are not visible inside of the appartments - are parts of the walls and ceilings sloped respectively at an angle? How much does the specific construction method influence the room design? Are common cubic form of rooms possible, if the users request it, ore do the roomshape urgently differ from the common cubic form? 2. application of palaces in China During my last domestic flight a saw a river in plain landscape, flooding more than 100 old villages. The river is controlled by dams, but the affected villages are located between the dams, because of scarecity of land, I guess. In some provinces, thousands of traditional earth-cave-homes have been washed down by heavy rain. My knowledge of China's history in natural disasters is little, so I don't know how often this happens. What is the new dimension of disaster? Who can me give some hints for further information in English or German language? Juergen Paulussen