The Worst Building in the World

I had my doubts about how bad this building could possibly have been when I heard about it. I mean we all know that architecture is very subjective and not everyone is going to agree about the aesthetic qualities of any building but when I saw an image of the Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea, I had to admit that this was the one exception to the rule. It's truly awful!

The one-hundred-and-five-story, world's 22nd largest skyscraper broke ground as far back as 1987 by Baikdoosan Architects but construction was stopped in 1992 when it was rumored that the state ran out of money to continue. Now, more than twenty years later after North Korea poured more than two percent of its gross domestic product into this eyesore, construction has resumed though I can't understand why. The Ryugyong Hotel dwarfs and stands out so much from its surroundings, it looks like it was just dropped there from outer space with no care for site integration. Also, the government themselves think it is so bad that they airbrush it out of official photos of the city skyline, pretending that it isn't there.

Even by Communist standards, the 3,000-room hotel is hideously ugly, a series of three gray 328-foot long concrete wings shaped into a steep pyramid. With 75 degree sides that rise to an apex of 1,083 feet, the Hotel of Doom (also known as the Phantom Hotel and the Phantom Pyramid) isn't the just the worst designed building in the world -- it's the worst-built building, too. - www.esquire.com/the-side/DESIGN/hotel-of-doom-012808

I think like most people do, that the Ryugyong Hotel is horrid but again we really can't judge the entire process of its design and construction as it is within a communist country we do not understand or have much access to. This building clearly would not have even gotten approved anywhere in Europe or the United States nor would so much money have been poured down the drain on a project the government and community clearly seem to despise.

Images obtained from: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/DESIGN/hotel-of-doom-012808

World's First Flying Hotel!

Modeled on the Soviet Mil V-12, the largest helicopter ever built, this double deck Airbus A380 idea has seemingly set the bar high for luxury accommodation. The Russian Hotelicopter Company purchased one of these prototypes from the Mikhail Leontyevich Mil helicopter plant in Panki-Tomilino, Russia in 2004 and claim to have been working out the kinks in the design ever since.

This contraption boasts 18 luxury rooms, each soundproofed and furnished with a queen-sized bed, fine linens, a mini-bar, coffee machine, wireless Internet access, and all the trimmings one would expect to find in a flying hotel with room service offered half and hour before and after take off.

"The original Mil V-12 was an amazingly large helicopter which absolutely dwarfs any heavy lift Helicopter in use today. Each rotor had a diameter of nearly 115 ft (35m), mounted at the end of a large wing, making the distance from the tips of each rotor blade wider than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. The two Soviet built V-12s did fly and still hold the helicopter heavy lift world record of 44,205 kg (88,636 lb) at a height of 2,255m (7,398 feet) set on August 6th 1969 but were simply too big and difficult to maneuver to be practical so never reached production." - Gizmag, 3/30

Although the company, Hotelicopter has shown very imaginative and innovative images of this design as well as a flight tour, just from the above dimentions and weight, I have my doubts about just how practical these claims might be. For starters, the specified Maximum Takeoff Weight is given at 232,870 lb, the same as the original Mil V-12 helicopter even though three stories of rooms have been added and this really doesn't sound feasible. So although a flight tour has been released, starting June 26th, I think these plans are pretty spurious especially considering that yesterday was April fool's.







Images obtained from: www.likecool.com
Article details obtained from: www.gizmag.com