Friday, September 28, 2012

Hotel of Doom

Hotel of Doom, The ‘Hotel of Doom’ is an iconic, desolate ghost building nestled in the hear of North Korea.  Actually called the Ryugyong Hotel, the building is affectionately known as the ‘Hotel of Doom’ because it has never been occupied.

The 105 story pyramid, which dominates the skyline, was never actually completed.  After the collapse of the the Soviet Union, the project lost its funding.  There has been no construction since 1992.

These photos from Wikipedia and SkyscraperLife show the hotel as an ominous, daunting presence.

This week, the hotel is back in the news.  Specifically, Egypt’s Orascom Group has resumed construction.  To begin, they have started refurbishing the top three floors.  No official next steps have been released, although architects assume it would cost up to $2 billion to make the building habitable.

For some lovely context, the hotel was dubbed by Esquire Magazine as ‘The Worst Building in the History of Mankind’, further noting, “Even by Communist standards, the 3,000-room hotel is hideously ugly.”

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