Frank Lloyd Wright once said - "A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines". We couldn't have put it better if we tried. So instead we bring you some of the biggest architectural blunders because while we can't always avoid them, we sure can learn from them.
Vdara Hotel
Glass has been the material of choice for modern buildings. It's sleek and easy to maintain, that said glass isn't a material meant for all climates. In the case of the Las Vegas based Vdara hotel, an unfortunate combination of reflective glass and the concave design of the building transformed the hotel into a giant parabolic reflector. This has caused a peculiar condition where the suns rays converge over the pool deck making it extremely hot. Some have dubbed this phenomenon as the 'Vdara death ray'. Some guests have even confirmed reports of plastic cups and bags melting in this area.This wouldn't be the only time one of Architect Rafael Vinoly's designs faced this peculiar problem. In fact he also designed the 'Walkie-talkie' skyscraper in London which faces similar issues.
Taipei 101
The Taipei 101 in Taiwan has been celebrated for its aesthetic expression of Chinese symbolism. The building also won the LEED Platinum certification, the highest award in Energy and Environment design. Until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in 2010 this building was the tallest building in the world! But even a building with so many accolades to it's credit was not free from blunder. Weighing at a hefty 700,000 tonnes, Taipei 101 is located in an area that had a history of earthquakes and tectonic activities. Prior to Taipei 101 the regions earthquakes had relatively stabilized, which quickly changed as the building started raising out of the ground. According to the geologist Cheng Horng Lin, from the National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 101 might have been responsible for more earthquakes. He believes that the stress from the weight of the skyscraper may have reopened some ancient earthquake faults.
