In the heart of the North Koreain the capital Pyongyangthere is a skyscraper that stands out among the existing buildings and the city skyline: it is approximately 100 meters tall. 330 m and was born as an ambitious project in the second half of the 20th century, ready to become one of the landmark hotel in North Korea and the world. What is so strange about this skyscraper? Nothing, except for the fact that it has never been used until today. For this reason, the structure is today called ghost hotel or hotel of death. Let’s see its history and what are the technical characteristics of the building.
The story of the Ryugyong Hotel, the “ghost” hotel
The hotel, considered a futuristic structure at the time of its construction, it was wanted by the North Korean government as a response, in a climate of the Cold War, to the construction of the tallest hotel in the world built in Singapore by a South Korean company. Its construction began in 1987 and was to be completed in 1989, on the occasion of the World Festival of Youth and Students. The date was not respected due to some construction problems, probably also due to a lack of sufficient economic resources to realize the ambitious project. However, the supporting structure was completed and remained empty until 2008, filled only with the concrete that composed it. In fact, the finishing structures (such as the fixtures and systems) were never completed, not even in the decades that followed.
Although several attempts were made to revive the resumption of work and complete the ambitious project, the final outcome was a failure. Only recently, to overcome its uselessness and avoid demolition, a widespread LED screen covering of the skyscraper, so that it can function as a large projector for advertising and image transmission.
The structure, which due to its size and central location in the North Korean capital, always appears in tourist photos of the city, did not even appear on maps for a long time, simulating its unlikely absence.
Architecture, structure and height of the hotel
The Ryugyong Hotel stands out impressively from the existing structures in the North Korean context due to its particular shape.pyramidal“. In reality, the pyramid-shaped configuration is a geometric approximation that is acceptable only if you look at it from the front (i.e. from the front). In fact, the building as a whole is not a pyramidas its base can be more correctly assimilated to the shape of a Y with equal sides, with 75° angles between the faces: we could therefore define it as a pyramid dug in some places. It consists of 105 floors and should have welcomed 3000 hotel roomswith the addition of luxury restaurantsespecially on the upper floors, large common areas and observation platforms.
The higher floors develop in truncated cone shape with a circular basewhile gradually going downwards linear structures take shape that develop along three directions. The load-bearing structure of the hotel is made of reinforced concrete for its entire elevation and has been exposed to the environment for several years, as it is devoid of any finishing. It does not present any particular elements of note from a construction point of view, in fact it is mainly remembered for its showiness and imposing nature when compared to the surrounding buildings of the city of Pyongyang.
