Although it is absurd to think that a new ‘landmark” can be a cultural icon, that does not stop architects, councillors and mayors from making investments in doomed vanity schemes.
A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness.
This is a case where we’re looking at embarrassingly expensive, ineffective, and out-of-budget tourist attractions.
Since its opening in June 2021, the infamous Marble Arch Mound is a legend of this genre.
The much derided 82ft mountain nearly doubled in cost to £6million and closed after two days following a wave of visitor complaints and online criticism.
The debacle was so bad that the deputy leader of Westminster Council, Melvyn Caplan, had to resign over ‘totally unacceptable’ ballooning costs.
The greenery along the structures’ sides hasn’t yet produced the floral displays expected.
The view is from the structure. This has been compared to views from other areas of London.
At the top, police officers join the public. The mound is secured for safety.
The long walkway made of metal allows visitors to reach the top. This mound’s turf is in very early stages.
MVRDV, Dutch architects, designed the project to provide views over Oxford Street, Hyde Park and Marylebone.
Visitors were not pleased with the views, as they are often obscured by nearby buildings and trees.
Entrance fees, which were initially £8 have now been scraped and you can visit ‘London’s newest outdoor attraction’, until January 2022.
While the mound of the unfortunate is our first choice, it’s not the most expensive.
Palace of the Parliament – Bucharest, Romania
The sprawling building, is the third largest in the world and cost a reported £4billion to construct.
Gas and electricity costs are almost £6million (or one Marble Arch Mound) a year, even though only 30% of the palace is occupied.
The colossal structure was a part of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu’s plan to create a civic centre inspired by the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
This is the view looking from the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. It is also the most massive structure in the world at 4,098,500,000kg (9.04 Billion Pounds; 4.10 Million Tonnes).
The cost of heating, electricity and lighting alone is almost £6 million per year, comparable to the total cost of powering a medium-sized city
Known for its ornate interior composed of 23 sections, the palace houses the two chambers of the Parliament of Romania: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaților), along with three museums and an international conference centre
This palace has 1100 rooms. It was finished in 1997.
There are eight levels underground, with the most deep housing a nuclear buner. It is connected to major state institutions via tunnels 20 kilometres (12.4 mi)
Before its 1997 completion, the Palace of the Parliament (also known as the People’s House) displaced over 40,000 people and destroyed churches, hospitals, and other religious structures.
Located in the centre of Bucharest, the palace functions as an administrative building for parliament and is also a tourist attraction, with guided tours available from £14.60.
Ceaușescu was tried and shot dead along with his wife in the 1989 Romanian Revolution before the palace was finished.
The building is the largest in weight, at 4,098,500,000 kg (9.04 trillion pounds; 4.10 millions tonnes).
The palace has a total of 1,100 rooms, and, at Nicolae Ceaușescu’s insistence, eight underground tunnels in the event of nuclear war.
Intempo apartments – Benidorm, Spain
It was after 17 years of setbacks and delays that the Intempo skyscraper would be built.
Alicante is known for British vacationers who love lobster pink and are looking to invest their hard-earned dollars.
In fact, Benidorm’s British influence has been so significant that an ITV comedy of the name was created. The show ran for ten season between 2007 and 2018.
Its twin towers, which are connected by a diamond-shaped penthouse worth nearly £2million, boasts the fastest lift in Spain, which rises at a rate of 4.2 metres a second, reaching the top floor in just 52 seconds
Prices start from approximately £250,000 with the penthouse valued at close to £2million
Pre-sold apartments of only 100 were sold to Spanish buyers, a majority of which was the remaining 256.
It reportedly coast £75million to construct the apartment building
Intempo stands at 187m and is Europe’s tallest apartment building.
Its twin towers, which are connected by a diamond-shaped penthouse worth nearly £2million, boasts the fastest lift in Spain, which rises at a rate of 4.2 metres a second, reaching the top floor in just 52 seconds.
According to Guardian, only 100 of the remaining 256 apartments had been sold to Spanish-speaking buyers.
It reportedly coast £75million to construct the residential building.
Olympic Stadium, Montreal (Canada)
The 1976 Montreal Olympics was so costly that it took three decades to pay off the debt, which was estimated to be over £680million.
Centrepiece of the event was, undoubtedly, the Olympic Stadium. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies as well as thrilling track-and-field events.
However, it is now 30 years since the last tenant left and the retractable roofing, which was not installed in time for the 76 Games, is not structurally sound.
The 1976 Montreal Olympics was so costly that it took three decades to pay off the debt, which was estimated to be over £680million
The stadium has a capacity of 56,000 and was home to the Montreal Expos baseball team from 1977 through 2004.
The nickname ‘The Big Owe,’ is used to refer to the stadium’s astronomical construction cost and the host city’s hosting of 1976 Olympics.
Only 52 m (10.6 ft.) is the height of the roof above the playfield. It made baseball somewhat difficult as long home runs and pop-ups could sometimes hit the roof.
This stadium has been nicknamed “The Big O”, a nod to its name as well as the structure of its permanent roof.
The nickname “The Big Owe”, which is a disparaging term, refers to the enormous construction costs of the city and the entire 1976 Olympics.
The stadium has a capacity of 56,000 and was home to the Montreal Expos baseball team from 1977 through 2004.
Unfortunately, the conditions of play were not ideal. The Expos had an exceptionally thin surface with very little padding.
Because it was too hard on their knees, visiting teams often practiced at nearby parks instead of the training facility.
It is 52 m above the ground, 170.6 ft below the surface. Because of this, baseball was somewhat problematic. Pop-ups and home runs could occasionally land on the roof. To separate fair from foul, orange lines had to be painted onto the ceiling.
After nearly crippling the city’s finances, it is fair to assume that this may be the greatest white elephant sporting history has seen.
Ryungyong Hotel – Pyongyang, North Korea
Ryungyong Hotel is North Korea’s architectural white elephant.
The building is tallest and unoccupied at 105 stories.
Additionally, the skyscraper boasts 3000 rooms. That’s roughly the number of foreign tourists that this country welcomes every year.
The Ryungyong Hotel in North Korea is the world’s tallest unoccupied building with 105 empty storeys
According to reports, it will cost $2billion for the Ryugyong Hotel’s final completion. That is approximately 5% of North Koreas GDP (roughly $40 billion).
Because of its distinctive pyramid-shaped structure and location in one the poorest countries on the planet, it has been called ‘Mordor.
In 1987 it was built stop/start and reached its height in 1992.
After a 16 year pause an Egyptian contractor, the Orascom group, took over the project and revived construction in 2008, according to Reuters.
It would cost approximately $2billion to finish Ryugyong Hotel, which amounts roughly to 5% of North Korea’s GDP (roughly $40 billion).
Russky Island Bridge – Vladivostok, Russia
The bridge, worth $1.1 billion, has the longest suspension section in the entire world. It links Vladivostok with its 600,000. inhabitants to Russky which is home to a small population of 5,000.
Critics of Russia’s corruption-plagued government have dubbed it ‘the bridge to nowhere’, the Guardian reports.
Russky Island’s bridge is made of cable stays and has a length of 1,104m (1,207yd).
Russky Island’s current population is only 5,000, so the built-in daily capacity for 50,000 vehicles per day is 10 times greater than Russky Island’s. This leads to serious under-usage
The bridge, worth $1.1billion, has the longest suspended segment in the entire world. It links Vladivostok with its 600,000 inhabitants to Russky Island.
Russia’s corruption-plagued state has been called “the bridge between nowhere” by its critics
The bridge was built for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit 2012, which lasted just two days
It spans 1,185m (3,887ft). It was constructed by the federal government to prepare for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit 2012, which only lasted two days.
Russky Island’s current population is only 5,000, so the built-in daily capacity for 50,000 vehicles per day is 10 times greater than Russky Island’s. This leads to serious under-usage.
New South China Mall – Dongguan, China
Built in 2005, the mall was heralded as the largest shopping centre in the world with 659,612 square meters (7,100,000 sq ft) of space. It was expected that 100,000 customers would visit the mall each day.
However, Dongguan’s inhabitants are mostly made up of migrant workers, most of whom would prefer not to spend their hard-earned cash in soulless shopping centres.
One per cent is still the occupancy rate for the mall covering 7m square feet. It’s the largest mall by area, and it has twice the space as The Mall of America.
Construction of the deserted mall was $1.3billion.
The mall doesn’t lie on any major transport network or nearby airport, and can take hours to get to via public transport, even for those living a short distance away
What it should look like: The map at the start of the shopping center
It is divided into seven areas, which represent a country, city or region: Amsterdam Venice Paris Rome Egypt California.
Most of Dongguan’s residents are migrant workers who can’t afford to shop in the large mall.
It was constructed in 2005 and is considered the biggest shopping mall in the globe, with 659.612 square metres (7.100,000 sq.ft)
Business Insider reports that last year, Emporis, a global building data firm, claimed the mall is virtually empty.
It is now known as the “New” South China Mall. The ‘New’ was created in an unsuccessful relaunch in 2007.
According to The New York Times, it cost $1.3billion for the mall to be built.
Alex Hu Guirong was a Dongguan-native who made a fortune selling instant noodles and came up with the idea for the mall.
The seven areas that comprise the design of this map are: Amsterdam, Venice Paris, Rome Egypt, California and California.
For two years, designer teams were deployed around the globe to find good spots for zone locations. Then car parks were constructed for shoppers.
Ciudad Real Central Airport – Ciudad Real, Spain
After the 2009 completion of the project, this ill-fated airport was built at a cost of $1.1 billion.
But operations on the site were suspended after the bankruptcy filings by the owners.
Following the expansion of Madrid’s main airport (Barajas ) in 2006, airlines that had been considering operating from Ciudad Real chose instead to fly from Madrid.
For a fraction the cost of building the huge transport hub, the airport was sold.
Bridges remain half completed, while the control tower tower dominates a vacant landing strip.
It remains empty, as does the vast runway area and large landing strip surrounding it.
A dump site for junk has developed around the airport.
While the airport stand redundant, the high speed train which was supposed be used to transport passengers, speeds by.
This terminal is where five million passengers would be expected to pass each year. It’s eerily empty
Amidst barren wastelands, the tower of control stands.
Barajas airport proved to be more practical for passengers than Ciudad Real Airport. It is roughly 200km from Madrid. The distance makes it nearly two hours driving to get there.
As a result, the airport’s owner filed for bankruptcy, having amassed €300 million of debt.
In 2017, the airport was finally sold for a meagre €56 million following a series of failed auctions, including one that saw a lone bid of €10,000.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, several airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Iberia, and Aer Lingus, kept their unused aircraft in the facility.
Tel Aviv Central Bus Station- Tel Aviv Israel
This station was so complex to create that an elephant balloon, a white one, was launched into the air when it opened.
This is the biggest bus station in the entire world. It opened initially with six floors and buses could travel to each floor.
In reality, bus terminals were only used on four of the six floors. The platforms from the first and second floors were then transferred to the new 7th floor in 1998. This was the act that killed the businesses remaining on the floors one and two.
To make commuters spend more time at the stores and spend more money, the station was designed deliberately to be confusing.
Today entire stations are abandoned or used for illegal purposes such as prostitution and drug trafficking.
The station, which was built in Tel Aviv’s central area in 1967, was initially located in Tel Aviv. However, it became increasingly impoverished by time the station opened.
To make commuters spend more time at the shops, and consequently spend more money, the station was designed deliberately to be confusing.
Construction began in 1967 in Tel Aviv’s Downtown. But by the time that it was opened, Tel Aviv had moved its business center north. The station’s neighborhood had been displaced and became poorer.
Today entire stations are abandoned or used for illegal purposes such as prostitution and drug deals.