The monolithic concrete pyramid that has loomed over Pyongyang, North Korea since topping out in 1992 is finally getting a face lift. Glass panels and construction netting have been attached to the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel over the last few months, apparently the result of a bid by an Egyptian telecommunications company to develop North Korea’s first publicly-accessible cellular telephone network. Cell phones were previously only available to government officials of the communist country.
Rumors of shoddy concrete and subpar construction methods have plagued the tower for years, but the latest photos seem to show newer concrete on the numerous balconies that protrude from the sloping edges of the 24th tallest building in the world. A government source recently confirmed that the hotel will be completed by 2012 – just in time to celebrate the 100th birthday of Kim II Sung.
While this structure has been labeled “The Worst Building In The History Of Mankind” by Esquire magazine, I think it looks rather attractive in the following render.
One Comment
I’ve never found that building to be ugly. I never judge something that has not been finished. Of course, it didn’t look pretty since it has been abandoned for so long. But trust our corn fed friends from the USA to find anything so to criticize everything that doesn’t look like a McDonalds or that papercraft looking Disney castle.