[Image: The revised tower, via the Las Vegas Sun].
A new boutique hotel in Las Vegas designed by architect Norman Foster – who is soon to lose his seat in the House of Lords after becoming a Swiss citizen to avoid paying taxes – is being cut almost in half due to a construction error: “15 floors of wrongly installed rebar.”
The hotel, called the Harmon, was meant to stand at 49 stories; it will now reach a mere 28.
“It’s still unclear how the Harmon will be capped,” the Las Vegas Sun reports, “and what reengineering will be required for such infrastructure elements as elevators and vents. If the Harmon’s exterior isn’t significantly redesigned, it risks looking unmistakably out of proportion. Think 28 oz. of tomatoes squished into a 16 oz. can.”
Midway through becoming what you were meant to be, an unanticipated internal flaw forces you to become something else entirely – for good or for bad, that remains to be seen.
(Via Archinect).
My first impression of those pictures reminded me about European churches, where the the church tower couldn’t be finished because of insufficient funds.
Unfortunately it seems its not just Foster’s buildings that are getting cut downat the moment. I guess the downturn affects us all eventually.
Incorrectly installed rebar is the best euphemism ever for our lenders backed out.
I don’t think it looks very good in either visual, in the original design it looks like two AA batteries wrapped in plastic like you get in a new remote.
That last paragraph is beautiful! See how a botched building can inspire poetry…
” Philip Ferrato said…
Incorrectly installed rebar is the best euphemism ever for our lenders backed out.”
Exactly.. there is NO way that they could have wrongfully installed rebar on a project like this.. if that was the case, the inspector is in royal sh*t and they should demolish the highrise.. perhaps they installed the incorrect gauge rebar… haha
square one TV anyone? with the little collaged vignettes making it seem like things like the crash of the hindenberg or the implosion of a building were due to a mathematical error in addition or multiplication by an (overworked?) engineer? hehehe….
the investors must be furious!
“Incorrectly installed rebar is the best euphemism ever for our lenders backed out.”
definitely one way to look at it.