Building where construction is delayed or postponed
Unity Tower, a high-rise building inKraków, Poland, sat in an unfinished state from 1981 until 2016 when construction restarted.
Anunfinished building is abuilding (or other architectural structure, as a bridge, a road or a tower) whereconstruction work was abandoned or on hold at some stage or only exists as a design. It may also refer to buildings that are currently being built, particularly those that have been delayed or at which construction work progresses extremely slowly.
Manyconstruction orengineering projects have remained unfinished at various stages of development. The work may be finished as ablueprint orwhiteprint and never be realised, or be abandoned during construction.
One of the best-known perennially incomplete buildings isAntoni Gaudí's basilicaSagrada Família inBarcelona.[1] It has been under construction since 1882 and planned to be complete by 2026, Gaudí's death centenary.[2]
Construction of theRyugyong Hotel in Pyongyang was on hold between 1992 and 2008. Had it been completed on schedule, it would have been the tallest hotel in the world at the time.Construction onHotel Britanika in Lithuania was halted after the country gained independence in 1990
There are numerous unfinished buildings that remain partially constructed in countries around the world, some of which can be used in their incomplete state but with others remaining as a mere shell. Some projects are intentionally left with an unfinished appearance, particularly thefollies of the late 16th to 18th century.
Some buildings are in a cycle of near-perpetual construction, with work lasting for decades or even centuries.Antoni Gaudí'sSagrada Família inBarcelona, Spain, has been under construction for around 140 years, having started in the 1880s. Work was delayed by theSpanish Civil War, during which the original models and parts of the building itself were destroyed. Today, even with portions of thebasilica incomplete, it is still the most popular tourist destination in Barcelona with 1.5 million visitors every year. Gaudí spent 40 years of his life overseeing the project and is buried in the crypt.[3] Germany'sCologne Cathedral took even longer to complete; construction started in 1248 and finished in 1880, a total of 632 years.[4]
Buildings (and other architectural structures) never completed
Many projects do not get to the construction phase, halted during or after planning.Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned several designs forCastle Falkenstein, with the fourth plan being vastly different from that of the first. The first two designs were turned down, one because of costs and one because the design displeased Ludwig, and the third designer withdrew from the project. The fourth and final plan was completed and someinfrastructure was prepared for the site but Ludwig died before construction work began.[5] ThePalace of Whitehall, at the time the largestpalace inEurope, was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1698. SirChristopher Wren, most famous for his role in rebuilding several churches after theGreat Fire of London in 1666, sketched a proposed replacement for part of the palace but financial constraints prevented construction.
Even without being constructed, many architectural designs and ideas have had a lasting influence. The Russianconstructivism movement started in 1914 and was taught in theBauhaus and other architecture schools, leading to numerous architects integrating it into their style.
Computer technology has allowed for3D representations of projects to be shown before they are built. In some cases the construction is never started and thecomputer model is the nearest that anyone will ever get to seeing the finished piece. For example, in 1999 Kent Larson's exhibition "Unbuilt Ruins: Digital Interpretations of Eight Projects by Louis I. Kahn" showed computer images of designs completed by notedarchitectLouis Kahn but never built.[8] Computer simulations can also be used to createprototypes of projects and test them before they are actually built; this has allowed the design process to be more successful and efficient.
