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Worst Building Ever?

rez | Posted in General Discussion on February 1, 2008 09:56am

The Worst Building in the History of Mankind

It’s the Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea, where the world’s 22nd largest skyscraper has been vacant for two decades and is likely to stay that way … forever.

A picture doesn’t lie — the one-hundred-and-five-story Ryugyong Hotel is hideous, dominating the Pyongyang skyline like some twisted North Korean version of Cinderella’s castle. Not that you would be able to tell from the official government photos of the North Korean capital — the hotel is such an eyesore, the Communist regime routinely covers it up, airbrushing it to make it look like it’s open — or Photoshopping or cropping it out of pictures completely.

View Image

 

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/DESIGN/worst-hotel-ever-012808?kw=ist

 

 

Peaceful,
easy feelin’.

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Replies

  1. dovetail97128 | Feb 01, 2008 09:59am | #1

    I just saw that and read the article.

    Wondered if it was going to show up here.

    you da Man!

    They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
  2. FastEddie | Feb 01, 2008 04:01pm | #2

    I wonder if the architect and construction managers are still alive?

    "Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

    "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

  3. peteshlagor | Feb 01, 2008 04:27pm | #3

    Is that a roller coaster on the sides?

  4. MisterT | Feb 01, 2008 04:41pm | #4

    Looks like they had a Klingon Archytech on that one!!!

    .
    .
    "After the laws of Physics, everything else is opinion"

    -Neil deGrasse Tyson
    .
    .
    .
    I have Transcended the need for a Humorous tagline...

    1. JohnT8 | Feb 01, 2008 08:45pm | #17

      Looks like they had a Klingon Archytech on that one!!!

      Makes sense, some of  the North Korean govt act like Klingons.

       jt8

      "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."  -- Sydney Smith

      1. User avater
        nater | Feb 01, 2008 08:51pm | #18

        Read more at wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotelit is generally assumed construction came to a halt in 1992 due to lack of funding, acute electricity shortages, and the prevailing famineThe basic structure is complete, but no windows, fixtures, or fittings have been installed, and it has never been certified safe for occupancy. The North Korean government is trying to invite foreign investment of US$300 million to improve and finish the hotel.

  5. alwaysoverbudget | Feb 01, 2008 05:05pm | #5

    on the postive,i bet the roof doesn't leak.

    is that a crane sitting at the top?maybe their not done... larry

    if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?

  6. Ken | Feb 01, 2008 05:07pm | #6

    I'm thinking you put some rockets on those little wingee things and you got yourself a starship.

    ++++++++++++++++++

    "Where will our children find their enjoyment when everything gets itself done by steam? Frederick Law Olmsted, 1850s?"

  7. User avater
    JDRHI | Feb 01, 2008 05:13pm | #7

    Not a fan of skyscrapers myself...but I gotta say...as skyscrapers go, I don't find it as hideous as some others I've seen.

    Miss em, now that they're gone, but I never liked the Twin Towers.

    J. D. Reynolds
    Home Improvements

     

     


  8. renosteinke | Feb 01, 2008 05:46pm | #8

    I rather like the general appearance; properly built, with a nice facade, it would look pretty neat. And, yes, it does look like something built on the Klingon home world!

    However, given the state of world affairs, I suspect we may see the demolition of this building .... and quite a few other NK building projects .... fairly soon. Built with a trowel, taken down with a tomahawk ....

  9. User avater
    FatRoman | Feb 01, 2008 05:52pm | #9

    Not the worst by far. In fact those little neo-Stalinist condos in the foreground are vastly worse. At least the tower is interesting.

    Maybe the architect was simply paying symbolic homage to the NK version of the Dow...trending down, next stop, ground floor.

    Besides, they could equip it with a funicular going up each of the 3 rails and ferry the tourists to their rooms. Sorta like the monorail at Disney.

    'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
  10. User avater
    Matt | Feb 01, 2008 05:53pm | #10

    It's hard to imagine how they could build that thing and then it end up empty for 20 years....  The taxes alone.... My guess it's just a monument to some really rich guy's eccentricity.

    1. User avater
      CapnMac | Feb 01, 2008 07:23pm | #13

      then it end up empty for 20 years....  The taxes alone.... My guess it's just a monument to some really rich guy's eccentricity.

      Well, it's owned by the Party, which is the government, so taxes are probably not as big an issue as the fact that it is hard to miss seeing . . .

      Far too much of PRNK is a monument to the eccentricity of one of the Jongs.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

      1. dovetail97128 | Feb 01, 2008 08:16pm | #14

        I am guessing it is empty because someone forgot to schedule the plumber in . Got it finished and tried to get him out for a slight remodel. His initial estimate was too high so they are waiting for a second bid to come in now.
        They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

        1. User avater
          CapnMac | Feb 01, 2008 08:43pm | #16

          am guessing it is empty because someone forgot to schedule the plumber in .

          Whoa . . .

          That's scary, I want to remember hearing (somewhere) that the buliding was built with poured-in-place concrete, and the mechanicals were neither installed, nor provisions made for chases, and that's a primary reason the structure is vacant.

          I want to remember that this was a project inspired by "Great Leader" (the previous, not the present one), and thus cannot be flawed in any way.  Talk about a tough AHJ <G>Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

  11. User avater
    aimless | Feb 01, 2008 06:02pm | #11

    I kinda like it. Evokes mountains to me, and I like mountains. Sort of a mix btween mountains, pyramids, and gothic cathedral. Much more interesting to look at than the square boxes that are most tall buildings.

    I'd bet the reason it is empty has nothing to do with looks, and everything to do with politics.

  12. bobbys | Feb 01, 2008 07:01pm | #12

    i like it but then again i like the Osmunds and ramblers.

  13. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Feb 01, 2008 08:24pm | #15

    To me it looks like "Duck Dodgers in the 21st century"

    the world's 22nd largest skyscraper has been vacant for two decades and is likely to stay that way ... forever.

    I'll bet it's the plumbing!  I remember at least one strange story about the North Koreans building something without having the basic engineering figured out ahead of time.

  14. rez | Feb 01, 2008 08:58pm | #19

    Truth of the matter is...

     Sphere spent a number of years back in the 80s under architectual design mentoring in North Korea.

    Their government leaders recalled him rambling on and on about building a workshop in the U.S. so they decided to send him back.

     

    and that's the rest of the story.

     

     

    Peaceful,
    easy feelin'.



    Edited 2/1/2008 1:47 pm ET by rez

  15. TJK | Feb 01, 2008 08:58pm | #20

    It's no worse than some of the architectural atrocities in Las Vegas. Hell, they should give it to Donald Trump and let him turn it into a Brothel/Casino for wealthy Chinese and Japanese.

    1. dovetail97128 | Feb 01, 2008 09:09pm | #21

      Yea, I actually think it is at least as interesting as some of Michael Graves work.
      They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

      1. User avater
        Luka | Feb 02, 2008 12:51am | #25

        It sure looks a lot better than that crumpled trash looking piece of krap in the Seattle center...


        Yeah, it may be cold, but at least it's a wet cold !

    2. peteshlagor | Feb 01, 2008 09:34pm | #22

      You're a rather creative thinker.  I like that idea.

       

      1. User avater
        Jeff_Clarke | Feb 01, 2008 09:44pm | #23

        It's not a hotel.

        It's the ski jump for the 2043 Winter Olypics.

         

        Jeff

        1. Piffin | Feb 02, 2008 04:21am | #27

          You sure it isn't a de-burring tool for the pipe the Chinese are building to pump American dollars over there? 

           

          Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          1. TJK | Feb 02, 2008 04:39am | #28

            "You sure it isn't a de-burring tool for the pipe the Chinese are building to pump American dollars over there?"LOL! Don't worry, the Chinese have plenty of dollars to spend, 1.3 Trillion at last count. And when prices in the U.S. get low enough, and sellers are truly desperate, they will be over here spending those dollars.

          2. peteshlagor | Feb 02, 2008 07:58am | #30

            "Don't worry, the Chinese have plenty of dollars to spend, 1.3 Trillion at last count. And when prices in the U.S. get low enough, and sellers are truly desperate, they will be over here spending those dollars."

            Yeah.  Probably when they make an unsolicited offer for Hawaii or Alaska.

            But then the way Washington is pizzing away dollars, it could be solicited.

             

             

            Edited 2/1/2008 11:59 pm ET by peteshlagor

  16. runnerguy | Feb 02, 2008 12:38am | #24

    Doesn't look as bad as Frank Gehry's stuff and his buildings are built here. Or for that matter as bad as the typical fake dormered strip shopping center with a KMart at one end, a Home Depot at the other end, a Bed, Bath and Beyond in the center all surrounded by a sea of parking.

    If North Korea ever seperates church and state it would make for a great national Christmas tree.

    Runnerguy

  17. Piffin | Feb 02, 2008 01:41am | #26

    I don't quite know if you can count me in as liking it, but I don't dislike it. I could not figure out why the article called it ugly

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

    1. frammer52 | Feb 02, 2008 05:29pm | #31

      I agree with you.  I don't think that it is all that ugly.

      1. smslaw | Feb 02, 2008 06:17pm | #32

        Count me among those who think it is a monstrosity.  I'd like to see how the elevators are configured, if there are any.

        The fact that it was never finished reminds me of all those ferro-cement sailboats that folks were building in the 60's.  

        Edited 2/2/2008 10:43 am ET by smslaw

  18. kpatrix | Feb 02, 2008 07:50am | #29

    I don't agree.

    I think that building is full of art and emotion in a dead country. It's very contemporary, considering its location.

    Constructed in an American city as an economy booster, it would have many accolades.....

  19. Fishrite | Feb 02, 2008 06:26pm | #33

     

    It kinda reminds me of the Transamerica Building in San Francisco.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transamerica_Pyramid

     

     

    "He said "Buck up baby, it's okay.  The sunlight on the floor will always fall."  ~ Sarah Harmer

     

     

    1. brownbagg | Feb 02, 2008 06:50pm | #34

      its a fahe building like their fake nuclear bomb and power plant.like a kia, looks good but no go on the inside.two ways to screw up concrete 1) concrete driver 2) concrete finisher

    2. sharpblade | Feb 03, 2008 02:21am | #35

      I think that is one cool building.

      And it is fully occupied,  you can trust me on this one ;>)

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