Ryugyong Hotel
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The Ryugyong Hotel (Korean: 류경호텔) (or Ryu-Gyong Hotel or Yu-Kyung Hotel) is a skyscraper intended for use as a hotel in Sojang-dong, in the Potong-gang District of Pyongyang, North Korea. The hotel's name comes from one of the historic names for Pyongyang: Ryugyong, or "capital of willows." Its 105 stories rise to a height of 330 m (1,083 ft), and it contains 360,000 m² (3.9 million square feet) of floor space, making it the most prominent feature of the city’s skyline and by far the largest structure in the country. It is currently the world's 24th tallest building.[1] At one time, it would have been the world's tallest hotel.[2]
Construction began in 1987 and ceased in 1992, due to the government's financial difficulties. The unfinished hotel remained untouched until April 2008, when construction resumed after being inactive for 16 years.[3] The hotel has been nicknamed "The Hotel Of Doom" because of apparent unappealing aesthetics and allegations of questionable construction. [4][5][6]
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[edit] Background
The building's plan for a 105-story height was reportedly a Cold War response to a South Korean contracting company's completion of the I.M. Pei designed Westin Stamford Hotel in Singapore the previous year. North Korean leadership envisioned the project as a channel for Western investors to step into the marketplace. A firm, the Ryugyong Hotel Investment and Management Co., was established to attract a hoped-for US$230 million in foreign investment. A representative for the North Korean government promised relaxed oversight, saying, "The foreign investors can even operate casinos, nightclubs or Japanese lounges if they want to."[7]
[edit] Construction
Construction on this pyramid-shaped hotel began in 1987 by the North Korean construction firm Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers.[8] The reinforced concrete structure consists of three wings, the face of each wing measuring 100 m (328 ft) long and 18 m (59 ft) wide, which converge at a common point to form a pinnacle. At the top is a 40 m (131 ft) wide circular structure which contains eight floors intended to rotate, topped by a further six static floors. A construction crane is perched at the top, and has assumed the role of a permanent fixture. The hotel is surrounded by a number of pavilions, gardens, and terraces. Its walls slope at a steep 75 degree angle. It was added to maps and North Korean postage stamps before it was half-finished.
[edit] Building deadlock
The Ryugyong's planned 3,000 rooms and seven revolving restaurants were scheduled to open in June 1989 for the World Festival of Youth and Students, but problems with building methods and materials delayed completion. Work ceased in 1992 due to electricity shortages, funding problems, the famine of 1990 and mainly because of the elevator engineering that had failed to provide service to the top floors. Chinese newspapers estimated the cost of construction was US$750 million[9]—equivalent to 2% of North Korea’s GDP. Official pictures of Pyongyang often show the building illuminated at night, but this is due to photo manipulation.[10]
There had been some question about whether North Korea had the raw materials or energy for such a massive project.[2] A government official said in 2008 that construction had previously been halted when funds ran out.[11]
[edit] Structural defects
Though the basic structure was complete when construction came to a halt in 1992, the building shell has sat vacant and without windows, fixtures, or fittings for 16 years. It has been reported to suffer from major structural defects.[2][12]
[edit] Future
In April 2008, after 16 years of inactivity, foreign residents in Pyongyang noted that Egypt's Orascom Group started refurbishing the top floors of the hotel. Though the effect on the architecture has yet to be determined, windows and telecommunications antennae were observed being installed.[13] The Orascom Telecom subsidiary of the group confirmed involvement in the structure to begin developing GSM infrastructure in North Korea for up to 100,000 initial subscribers.[14]
In September 2008, a senior North Korean official said the refurbishing of the Ryugyong Hotel will be done by 2012 - the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung. At the same time, an Orascom company official said the goal of the project was to at least give the structure's facade a facelift and make it more attractive.[11]
On December 22, 2008, photos of ongoing construction at the hotel appeared on the Internet.[15] The exterior construction has included the installation of windows and a covering of the top (circular) floors.[16]
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ryugyong Hotel |
[edit] References
- ^ List of tallest buildings in the world
- ^ a b c Beckmann, Dan (2006-10-23). "Pyongyang: Home to the Tallest Hotel in the World That Could, but Will Never Be". ABC News (The Walt Disney Company). http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=2590901. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ "N. Korea resumes construction of luxury hotel". Hotels (Reed Business Information). 2008-05-20. http://www.hotelsmag.com/articleXML/LN794108896.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
- ^ The Worst Building in the History of Mankind. Esquire
- ^ PETER HITCHENS: North Korea, the last great Marxist bastion, is a real-life Truman show The Daily Mail UK
- ^ At least Vegas architecture isn’t this bad. Las Vegas Sun
- ^ Ngor, Oh Kwee (1990-06-09). "Western decadence hits N. Korea". The Japan Economic Journal: 12.
- ^ "Companies - Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers". Emporis. http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/?id=101019. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
- ^ "North Korea builds record-height hotel". Engineering News-Record: 41. November 15 1990.
- ^ such as in Pyongyang, 1990, Foreign Languages Publishing House, and many other books about the city
- ^ a b "North Korea in the midst of mysterious building boom". Los Angeles Times. 2008-09-27. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-boom27-2008sep27,0,7763249.story?page=2&track=rss. Retrieved on 2008-12-14.
- ^ Kirk, Donald (27 October 2008), "Grand Illusion", Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/1027/059.html, retrieved on 31 January 2009
- ^ Herskovitz, Jon (2008-07-17). "North Korea's "Hotel of Doom" wakes from its coma". Yahoo! News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080717/lf_nm_life/korea_north_hotel_dc. Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
- ^ "Orascom Using Pyongyang's Ryugyong Hotel for Nth Korean 3G Network". Cellular News. 2008-07-17. http://www.cellular-news.com/story/32458.php.
- ^ www.chaoxian.com.cn (2008-12-22). "柳京大厦安玻璃了". http://www.chaoxian.com.cn/bbs/thread-4829-1-1.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-22.
- ^ Putting glass on Ryugyong Hotel,
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