That's the future of the architecture of ecotourism, to be precise. Another quality you may not have presumed about Pyongyang: it's naturally stunning, bounded by scenic coastlines and mountains. Politics aside, it's got all the makings of the next Costa Rica.
The series, titled "Commissions for Utopia," is the brainchild of a man named Nick Bonner. British-born and trained as a landscape architect, Bonner now runs the foremost tourist agency for the world's least visited country. Fewer than 4,000 tourists a year enter North Korea, and Koryo Tours -- Bonner's company -- takes more than half of them inside. Koryo must honor the country's massive restrictions, while still putting on a show. An architecture-themed tour this fall, for instance, promises to take visitors into a Pyongyang apartment.
Given Bonner's line of work, his contribution to the Biennale makes sense: he commissioned a North Korean architect to imagine what Pyongyang could look like in a future where tourists are commonplace. The images include hotels on stilts, and complexes built around waterfalls. Also pictured, according to Wired Magazine, "a self-sustaining silk cooperative, with massive solar panel-clad wheels and ziggurat-shaped living quarters."
All the designs take nature into account, from the use of natural stone rather than concrete in the silk co-op, to a bird nest-inspired guesthouse, with rooms meant to mimic the soothing lines of a cave interior.
The title of the project references Pyongyang's roots as a would-be Stalinist dreamland. Check out more views of the imaginary city below, and let us know if you'd pack your bags and venture forth in the comments.
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