(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following post was discovered by
Randy R. Georges during his investigation into local politics)
Previously in the Architecture Blog, we’ve looked at buildings
that were the wrong design for the right time, and ones that were the right
design for the right time. Today’s building is that most unique of types; the
wrong building at the wrong time built for the wrong reasons.
The Kazan City convention centre was first proposed in 3129
to fulfil a need that simply didn’t exist. Kazan City had no existing major
convention space and was neither a major tourist nor business destination. On
paper, the idea was to create a convention space that would draw people and business
to the city, but at the same time, there were a lot of questions as to if a
convention centre alone would be a major draw. Regardless, district Governor Sukhrab
Kentau was convinced that the project was a good idea, and had thrown the
weight of the district government behind it.
 |
| Kazan City Convention Centre |
The tendering phase went surprisingly quickly, and
construction began in January 3130 with a projected opening date for mid-3131. Unfortunately,
from day one there were problems with the ground and water supply, which in
turn led to delays in construction. Those problems continued to escalate and
spiral out of control as the project blew its budget out. Problems with
material supplies only added to the situation, and then an unexpected shortfall
in power supply required extensive rewiring of the district grid.
Finally, after no end of problems, the convention centre
was scheduled to open in September 3132. Now while obviously nobody could have
seen the Blackout coming, none the less the timing was fantastic. Overnight,
any potential market evaporated, leaving the city paying off a massive building
that had a sudden lack of purpose. None the less, they tried to get business in
as an effort to do something to give it purpose, no matter what.
The results were spotty to say the least. Rather then the
big-ticket, planetary-level events that the builders had hoped for, they were
attracting local events with far lower potential for revenue then expected. The
building not only stayed in the red, but having people in the building revealed
a whole host of new problems. The building was drafty, meaning that not only
was it hard to cool in summer, but it bled off heat in winter. The power system
was under-supplied, and unable to meet the needs of many exhibits. And, as possibly proof of everything going wrong, the bathrooms were too small, too crowded and prone to
backing up.
To add insult to injury, the gleaming metal cube
structure in the forecourt served to focus the sun’s rays into the centre
itself, creating uncomfortable amounts of heat and glare that would move in an
arc as the day went on. The so-called “death cube” became infamous, with
vendors and exhibitors actively avoiding the otherwise prestigious positions at
the front of the hall.
And even then, it managed to get worse. After revelations
of just how much the centre was costing the city, an independent investigation
turned up a fact that had been concealed during the tendering process. The
winning company was owned by Governor Kentau’s brother, and he had deliberately
thrown the selection process to favour them. The result was a massive
corruption scandal that saw Kentau impeached and arrested.
The convention centre, in the meantime, has remained
open, albeit at a fraction of its potential capacity. Between the HPG blackout,
the collapse of the Republic, the formation of the Senate Alliance and, of
course, the QLF insurgency, there’s been very little need for it. Efforts to
fix its problems have so far come to little, with the general feeling that it amounted
to throwing good money after bad. For the moment, the Kazan City convention
centre deserves its place on the planet’s top then worst buildings.
Next week: the world’s most expensive shower curtain.
No comments:
Post a Comment