Archiflop: A guide to the most spectacular failures in the history of modern and contemporary architecture

by Alessandro Biamonti

Once an architectural project has emerged from the perfect atmosphere of the computer, the drawings and the 3-D models, it inevitably comes up against the logic of the real world. In most cases, the encounter is painless. But sometimes things go wrong, what remains are unfulfilled expectations and broken dreams of overly optimistic architects, owners, and clients. This volume features a selection more or less notorious archiflops scattered over the globe, which are grouped in various thematic sections. Each project is described and its circumstances analyzed and extensively documented via photos. The reader is taken to monumental ghost towns in Asia, grotesque remnants of amusement parks, for example in the USA, and a nuclear power plant in Crimea. The author is not aiming to uncover faults and condemn failed projects but rather to contemplate on how difficult and nearly impossible it is to predict the future of any type of endeavor.

192 pages, Hardcover

Published December 6, 2016

Reviews

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty pictures, but the collection seems a bit random, information is being repeated throughout and sometimes stuff is described that really could have profited from being shown.

[Amber Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but felt like there could have been a bit more to this. Plus, I think it missed including "Galloping Gertie" the Tacoma Narrows bridge which was a massive dud--the bridge swung like a pendulum in high winds of which there were many where it was built! It collapsed/ripped itself apart in high winds during the Thirties which although not current, I think should still be called modern.