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Davenport apartment building, USA -

On May 28, 2023, a six-story apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, suffered a partial collapse, resulting in the rescue of eight individuals. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. According to the fire chief, a section of the building's back part unexpectedly separated from the rest of the structure, leading to a gas leak and significant water influx. The incident is believed to have been caused by damage sustained during a series of severe storms in 2020. Due to being irreparable, the building was demolished a few days later.

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InTempo Skyscraper, Spain -

The ambitious aspirations for this 47-storey residential building in Benidorm, Spain were never fully realized.

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InTempo Skyscraper, Spain -

Somehow the engineers forgot to include the elevators. Imagine carrying construction materials up and down all those flights of stairs!

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Walt Disney Concert Hall, USA -

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was created by renowned architect Frank Gehry, known for his innovative yet somewhat impractical designs.

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Walt Disney Concert Hall, USA -

The metal sheets, curved in various directions, skillfully redirect light towards the eyes of drivers passing by. Additionally, these sheets efficiently warm the building opposite the street, increasing its temperature by up to 9°C (48°F), and the sidewalk by up to 60°C (140 °F).

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"The Walkie Talkie," England -

The London building known as 20 Fenchurch Street was initially praised for its architectural success until the unfortunate issue of its curved facade leading to chaos when the sunlight shines upon it.

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"The Walkie Talkie," England -

The building emits such intense sunlight onto the street that it has been notorious for causing paint damage to parked cars. In a memorable incident, a news reporter managed to cook an egg solely with the building's heat.

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Vdara Hotel and Spa, USA -

Another architect was dazzled by the light at the Vdara hotel in Las Vegas.

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Vdara Hotel and Spa, USA -

The arched reflective structure focuses sunlight onto the pool, causing guests to suffer burns from the heightened temperature in the pool area.

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Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, United Arab Emirates -

A shopping mall in Dubai now features a 2.5 million gallon water tank that serves as home for the Dubai Aquarium collection. The impressive collection houses 33,000 fish species, along with 400 sharks and stingrays.

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Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, United Arab Emirates -

In 2010, a sudden crack in the glass caused water to rush into the mall, forcing shoppers to evacuate. Divers were summoned to fix the tank and, fortunately, no fish were injured.

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Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea -

The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang was one of North Korea's many (failed) attempts to gain respect on the world stage as a country of cultural influence.

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Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea -

Construction on the 105-storey triangular hotel commenced in 1987 and remains incomplete to this day. Originally designed with 3,000 bedrooms, the hotel has yet to welcome its first guest.

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Lotus Riverside Complex, China -

The Lotus Riverside Complex in Shanghai was being built as a new residential project in 2010. However, in an effort to cut costs, shortcuts were taken, leading to the collapse of one of the 15-story apartment buildings right before its completion.

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Lotus Riverside Complex, China -

One man lost his life in the collapse, and half of the apartments had already been sold to hopeful families. Six officials were arrested and charged with causing the serious accident.

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Brooklyn Bridge Park, USA -

The designers of this New York playground once again displayed a surprising lack of planning by choosing steel as the primary material.

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Brooklyn Bridge Park, USA -

The park structures were unbearably hot during sunny days. The temperature was high enough to cook an egg, resulting in the need for a complete reconstruction of the playground using different materials.

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Aon Center, USA -

This Chicago high-rise was constructed in 1973. The designers made a striking choice to envelop the building with Italian Carrara marble, the very marble used by Michelangelo for his sculptures.

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Aon Center, USA -

It was discovered that this specific marble was completely inappropriate, leading to cracking. A sizable slab even detached and caused damage to the roof of a nearby structure.

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Žižkov Television Tower, Czech Republic -

This contemporary eyesore is regarded negatively by a number of people as it sits conspicuously in the heart of Prague's charming historic city.

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Žižkov Television Tower, Czech Republic -

An art installation has worsened matters by becoming a permanent fixture, resulting in the presence of statues depicting crawling babies on the tower's exterior.

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Kangbashi District, China -

The Chinese government constructed the Kangbashi District in Ordos City during the early 2000s as a new urban area designed to accommodate a population of around one million individuals.

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Kangbashi District, China -

Numerous structures were constructed in this city, including schools, stadiums, museums, hospitals, and residential housing. Despite this, the city remains unoccupied. Developers acquired the homes, yet no one chose to live there. This place is famously known as China's biggest ghost town.

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Citigroup Center, USA -

This skyscraper in New York was an impressive engineering achievement during its construction in the mid-1970s.

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Citigroup Center, USA -

Unfortunately, its reputation diminished when it became evident that the structure had difficulty resisting powerful winds and almost collapsed in a storm.

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W.E.B. Du Bois Library, USA -

The W.E.B. Du Bois Library, located at the University of Massachusetts, is the tallest library in the US, with 26 storeys. Regrettably, this remarkable structure had one significant drawback.

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W.E.B. Du Bois Library, USA -

The outward brickwork began to crack and buckle. Rumors circulated that the engineer did not account for the weight of all the books!

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Santos, Brazil -

Santos, located in São Paulo, has gained notoriety for its peculiar buildings. Constructed during the 1950s on sandy ground and a layer of clay along the beachfront, these structures have now started to tilt. Astonishingly, inhabitants have observed that a ball can effortlessly roll across the floors of their apartments. The leaning champion in this category is the Excelsior building, which boasts an impressive inclination of 1.8 meters (6 ft)!

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The Basket Building, USA -

Structurally there's nothing wrong with this Ohio building, but what were they thinking?

See also: The most unusual places that people call home

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