Photos from inside North Korean Ryugyong Hotel(facebook.com)
facebook.com
Photos from inside North Korean Ryugyong Hotel
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.220524161341539.54916.152296118164344
19 comments
If you find this interesting, it will be worth your time to watch the series Vice did on their visit to North Korea. http://www.vice.com/the-vice-guide-to-travel/vice-guide-to-n...
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The travel site associated with this photo creeps me out...
This got me reading up on buildings with 100+ floors.
It's interesting to note how the US basically just gave up in the early '70s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_buildings_with_100_floo...
What happened in the early 1970s? It seems like that was the beginning of the decline of American power. Tall buildings construction seems symbolic of that.
It's interesting to note how the US basically just gave up in the early '70s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_buildings_with_100_floo...
What happened in the early 1970s? It seems like that was the beginning of the decline of American power. Tall buildings construction seems symbolic of that.
It's the same thing as with aircraft carriers - today, smaller, more maneuverable ships (hence the focus on VTOL, as well) and drones are favored over the huge floating islands that are basically sitting ducks.
I think the reason for no more tall buildings is the lack of space in the big cities - nobody's going to build a skyscraper in the middle of nowhere, after all :-)...
I think the reason for no more tall buildings is the lack of space in the big cities - nobody's going to build a skyscraper in the middle of nowhere, after all :-)...
http://www.wired.com/design/2012/09/broad-sustainable-buildi...
edit: found the HN discussion. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4574100
edit: found the HN discussion. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4574100
Oh God... not that I don't trust the Chinese (they do tend to overpromise, though), but I really hope that building doesn't come down at the first earthquake or fire.
Plus, building it in the middle of nowhere almost guarantees that it will become yet another abandoned property like the famous Chinese "ghost cities" and malls...
Plus, building it in the middle of nowhere almost guarantees that it will become yet another abandoned property like the famous Chinese "ghost cities" and malls...
Well, the founder apparently was motivated by the whole Sichuan earthquake thing. Article says he wanted to figure out a way to cheaply and easily build tall buildings that were both environmentally friendly and earthquake safe. FWIW, the article says: Broad's design has aced 9.0-magnitude earthquake tests.
I disagree about the lack of space. If anything, it makes more economic sense to build a wider, shorter building in the expanding suburbs and exurbs.
This is why the US has so much sprawl.
This is why the US has so much sprawl.
Wider, flatter buildings have enormous infrastructure costs, especially with the typical layout with a large building surrounded by an even larger parking lot.
Spreading things out means sewer lines have to be longer, power lines need to go further, and more roads have to be built and maintained to get to these new destinations. Then there's the phenomenon of the more roads you have, the more roads you have to build to get around those roads since they take up so much space themselves, further complicating things.
It doesn't make economic sense on the whole, only from the perspective of a developer that doesn't have to build and maintain infrastructure. The carrying costs are borne by other parties.
Spreading things out means sewer lines have to be longer, power lines need to go further, and more roads have to be built and maintained to get to these new destinations. Then there's the phenomenon of the more roads you have, the more roads you have to build to get around those roads since they take up so much space themselves, further complicating things.
It doesn't make economic sense on the whole, only from the perspective of a developer that doesn't have to build and maintain infrastructure. The carrying costs are borne by other parties.
> It seems like that was the beginning of the decline of American power.
Or the beginning of the realization that such buildings make little economic sense? After the 70s, local governments were far more reluctant to finance such endeavors ... with no subsidies, building them made even less sense.
Or the beginning of the realization that such buildings make little economic sense? After the 70s, local governments were far more reluctant to finance such endeavors ... with no subsidies, building them made even less sense.
Huh, Koryo Tours. I knew you could get to North Korea from China, but I didn't know there were dedicated tour companies!
You have to use either Koryo or another government approved/run organisation for tourism inside the DPRK.
http://wikitravel.org/en/North_Korea
http://wikitravel.org/en/North_Korea
Wow. So it's mostly unfinished inside?
Most undoubtedly. Given my non-expert outsider cursory knowledge of North Korea, the hotel will likely never be finished and will remain for show. They'll probably finish the main lobby and a handful of rooms — just enough to give the impression of how grandiose it is. Keeping up appearances.
Also, consider what happens to concrete being exposed like that for two decades. The concrete isn't meant for decades of weather, it's meant to be enclosed. The concrete degrades and becomes unsafe. Same thing has happened with a lot of the Dubai skyscrapers whose construction was halted, and they were only exposed for a few years (so says a Dubai contractor friend).
Also, consider what happens to concrete being exposed like that for two decades. The concrete isn't meant for decades of weather, it's meant to be enclosed. The concrete degrades and becomes unsafe. Same thing has happened with a lot of the Dubai skyscrapers whose construction was halted, and they were only exposed for a few years (so says a Dubai contractor friend).
Just some background info: The new contractor, Orascom [1], has been issued a licence to operate the North Korean 3G Network [2]. Orascom is both a telecommunications and a construction company.
I doubt that their plan is to use the hotel exclusively as a giant antenna, but it's not unlikely that finishing the facade was a political priority, while operating the hotel is not.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orascom_Group
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel#Construction_res...
I doubt that their plan is to use the hotel exclusively as a giant antenna, but it's not unlikely that finishing the facade was a political priority, while operating the hotel is not.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orascom_Group
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel#Construction_res...
Construction began in 1987 but was halted in 1992 [...] resumed in 2008 [to be completed this year].
The unfinished building was not surpassed in height by any new hotel until the 2009 completion of the spire atop the Rose Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel