I thought the glass look of the building was known for years? There has been a banner with the final, blue glass render for decades by now...

does anyone know what the building looked like in its actual construction phase?

Any recent shots?

I'm betting the cranes derived from Soviet-era cranes. And you know how the Soviets come to engineering--everything's either incredibly flimsy or over-engineered.

The concrete under where the new plates are going to go is definitely whiter. Whether that means real concrete cleanup and reinforcing or whether that's just primer or something for the plates is beyond me, but they definitely had to work on it some.

You know, North Korea makes me sad. Most places with totalitarian governments, when you peel back the skin, aren't so totalitarian at all, or of they are they don't last very long at all, but here, the Jong Ils have literally established a dynasty, and one that is maintained through fear and collusion and propaganda. North Koreans are quite literally thralls of the state. There's even an underground railroad going through China to Thailand for those among them who wish to escape!

Yeah, it would be horrible.

This is from a month ago but these are probably the most detailed pictures so far

looks abit cool after all whit almoust all of the glass on.

But its really sad that it probably most of the building is still an empty shell and of very bad quality due to all the exposure to the nature.

I was wondering when we'd get some more visual updates on this. I have to say, I think it actually looks good as more and more glass is going up.

There's something about the way the the facade reflects light that makes me think that the cladding is not glass. It is opaque and very dull, not unlike a plastic material. The reflections of other nearby buildings seen in post #345 are very dull and flat and the panels covering the upper circular floors look like the spandrels and windows are the same material but just two different colors. Even with a thin protective coating glass should show more life and sparkle. Does anybody else see this?

:previous: Take a look at other posts like #208 or #277 at the bottom. The crane's reflection is visibly clear just like clean glass. It's just the angle from where those pics were shot. Nothing but sky to reflect, and the building was shot straight on, so the low deviation in colors and shine in the glass is expected. The photos on page 18 clearly show the normal glass reflection, but Pyongyang has bad air pollution and the pics were shot from real far away so the glass is probably less shiny than I think you're wanting to see.

I think if they clad the thing in a plastic then they would probably already be falling off. Lightweight materials plus winds on the structure near the 1,000 foot mark probably aren't a good mix.

Is it true that only one side is being finished?

people are real antsy to denigrate this I think

by kernbeisser:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/...fdaa7ab1_o.jpg

No, I think that if it was finished, it would be gorgeous. But as a skeleton, it's looks depressing.

Gorgeous. . . I've been looking for the most apt adjective to describe this structure and I think you've nailed it. . . thanks! ;)

. . .

It looks much less massive with its cladding.

A slight improvement. ;)

It used to look like a Temple to Nyarlathotep. Now it's turning into a 1980s Epcot Center attraction. Either way, I would hope all 14 of its annual guests get their life insurance in order before staying there. That is one rickety bastard.

Is it? Seems like it held its own considering the exposed concrete structure supported 105 floors for over 15 years with no shelter from the elements. . .

I suppose there's no shortages of shallow opinions that will continue to flood these forums. . . at the very least you could have said something we haven't heard before. . .

Thanks :rolleyes:

. . .