Architects from North Korea were asked to design buildings with no constraints on cost or possibilities. Here, a designer envisions a cluster of villas overlooking a waterfall in the Mount Kumgang region.

What happens when a North Korean architect is given free rein to design what he or she likes?

Over the course of the last four years, one Beijing based tour company has sought to answer that question by asking a practicing architect from North Korea to create futuristic designs for sustainable tourism developments in the country.

Koryo Tours - which offers organized trips around North Korea - provided the anonymous participant who works at the Paektusan Architectural Institute in Pyongyang with an open brief and no limits on costs, scale or physical possibilities.

The fascinating results depict something akin to Soviet-era iconography and the Jetsons and are now on display at the Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy.

A collection of futuristic cone shaped buildings designed to appear like a steel and glass mountain range. (Courtesy Koryo Tours)

According to Nick Bonner, the man who arranged the project, "there is very little exposure to contemporary architecture in North Korea."

"The architect who led this project for us drew upon his own thoughts and experiences," he added....Continue Reading

> via CNN