A brilliant result. Love the shot. Inspired composition and an immediate fave. Good choice of music and thanks very much for posting to ' Sight and Sound', Sami.
There's an interesting story on that hotel tower here, 2nd topic from the top. It is in Finnish, I'm afraid, but it gives peculiar insight (inadvertently perhaps) into why the building is how it is: this was the cheapest way to do it, and the cheapest way to cover the cheapness.
In addition to the traditional penny stretching the tower seems to be a victim of globalization, too: some of the local construction companies involved in the building are accustomed to erect towers in Dubai, where Indian workers are paid next to nothing and are treated as slaves. So, in order to compensate for the astronomical difference in wages between Indian and Finnish workers, the company cuts costs on the construction of the hotel tower wherever possible: the structure, the frame, the hull, the materials, everything; it looks as if the architect was only allowed to choose the colors.
As unapproppriate as the black colour of the shell is for the location, it is the only colour that is able to hide (in certain light at least) the fact that the exterior is covered with notorious prefab concrete elements. Anything lighter would have made the building look like any block of flats they built in DDR, USSR and Finland in the 60's. So the architect did well in the only thing he was allowed to do. :-)
That is a very good point, Seppo. Yes, architects are often blamed when it is actually not their fault. I admit being guilty for doing the same. I remember the first drafts for this tower hotel, and there it definitely looked much better. Unfortunately it definitely looks like the best times of well made buildings are far behind, at least in Finland. There's no longer money to invest on well made details.
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9 comments
Stormlizard said:
I guess it must be Cloud Nine.
Jan said:
David Michael said:
Roger Bennion said:
Wierd Folkersma said:
2 said:
Amazingstoker said:
Spo said:
In addition to the traditional penny stretching the tower seems to be a victim of globalization, too: some of the local construction companies involved in the building are accustomed to erect towers in Dubai, where Indian workers are paid next to nothing and are treated as slaves. So, in order to compensate for the astronomical difference in wages between Indian and Finnish workers, the company cuts costs on the construction of the hotel tower wherever possible: the structure, the frame, the hull, the materials, everything; it looks as if the architect was only allowed to choose the colors.
As unapproppriate as the black colour of the shell is for the location, it is the only colour that is able to hide (in certain light at least) the fact that the exterior is covered with notorious prefab concrete elements. Anything lighter would have made the building look like any block of flats they built in DDR, USSR and Finland in the 60's. So the architect did well in the only thing he was allowed to do. :-)
Sami Serola (inactiv… replied to Spo: