Jul 21, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: A North Korean Architect's Crazy Visions of the Future

Koryo Tours
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These "Mountain Conicals" pile living quarters high to reduce their footprint in the surrounding river beds. The architect calls for ski runs in the pipes connecting buildings.
Koryo Tours
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This self-sustaining silk cooperative relies on wind, water, and solar power.

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This "aerial hotel" combines communal spaces with private views of nature.
Koryo Tours
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A series of villas intended for group trips or corporate retreats.

Koryo Tours
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An inside of the conical villas, which are situated around open atria.
Koryo Tours
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A flying house for a "future holiday on the move."

Koryo Tours
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A hotel for the port town of Nampo.
Koryo Tours
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A gently swaying bridge in the Diamond Mountains would let visitors "walk across the morning mist as if on clouds connecting mountains."

Koryo Tours
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A riverside guesthouse combining a bird's nest influence with traditional Korean architectural forms.
Koryo Tours
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An interior view.

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A new, more efficient train to faciliate tourism throughout the country. "It runs slowly amongst some of the world’s most beautiful scenery," we're told. "Speed is not the essence."

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