The above photograph is not a home in the U.S. It's a house in Beijing, China designed by F+A Architects. American-style suburbs are on the rise in China and the Middle East as U.S. architects go abroad to find work.
A growing number of architects and urban planners are finding work overseas as the domestic real estate slump persists. An emerging affluent class abroad is drawn to suburbs with U.S. names that mimic the American ideal - down to the master bathroom and tree-lined sidewalk.
A 2006 survey of American Institute of Architects members shows that large architecture firms with more than 100 employees reported billings from international work doubled in four years. Meanwhile, billings in the U.S. this year dropped to the lowest point in the 12 years the survey has been conducted.
There's even a suburb in Beijing named Orange County. It was designed by Newport Beach firm Bassenian Lagoni and it sold out days after opening according to the AP.
