“Worst Building in the History of Mankind” Still Under Construction
Looks pretty good… for a cheese grater.
“Hotel of Doom” Refuses To Die
Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as “the worst building in the history of mankind”, the 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel is back under construction after a 16-year lull in the capital of one of the world’s most reclusive and destitute countries….
The communist North started construction in 1987, in a possible fit of jealousy at South Korea, which was about to host the 1988 Summer Olympics and show off to the world the success of its rapidly developing economy.
A concrete shell built by North Korea’s Paektu Mountain Architects & Engineers emerged over the next few years. A proud North Korea put a likeness of the hotel on postage stamps and boasted about the structure in official media.
According to intelligence sources, then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung saw the hotel as a symbol of his big dreams for the state he founded, while his son and current leader Kim Jong-il was a driving force in its construction.
Well, it’s become a symbol, I guess ….
I wouldn’t say ugly. Plain, boring – all the architectural favorites.
Evelyn
July 19, 2008 at 7:49 am