# Buildings that have taken over 15-20 years to complete



## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

A few weeks ago I saw St Sava Temple in Belgrade - it was extremely interesting to see such a grand building still under construction and although complete from the outside the interior will, I guess take many years to complete. This made me think about the Shard and how quickly it had been built. It too is a grand and great building but simply does not have the detail and intricacy that the 'grand buildings of the past' that took many years to complete have. The Sagrada Família is the last grand building I have in mind with such detail that took a long time to build. 

Does anyone here have other examples of buildings that have been 'under construction' for over 15-20 years due to their detail and intricacy (not due to lack of finance, planning or war etc - although I accept the above examples have suffered from that).


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

British Library took 37 years, and was vastly over budget, coming it at $725 million (without inflation), and 10x over budget. It took so long the architectural style went out of fashion decades before the 1998 opening and of course much slated, due to its resemblance to a supermarket.

















Its interiors are however universally acclaimed:


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## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

Yes. forget that one and I used to walk right by it year after year!


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## Apoc89 (Mar 4, 2010)

As the first image shows, I imagine the presence of its neighbor doesn't help its (external) attractiveness much.


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

yep, its a vast brick bunker with bizarre art deco, rural English and Tibetan monastery flourishes - part brutalist and part pomo. They keep adding statues everywhere to soften it all. Looks better from the air, or as a scale model, terrible from the street - vast blank brick walls.


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## SydneyCity (Nov 14, 2010)

Surprised nobody's mentioned the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea:


DPRK, Pyongyang, Ryugyong Hotel by paulineandjohng2008, on Flickr


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## Hebrewtext (Aug 18, 2004)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv_Central_Bus_Station


Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, const. 1967 - 1993



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

known as the New Central Bus Station (HaTachana HaMerkazit HaChadasha), is the main bus station of Tel Aviv, Israel. Located in the south of the city, it was opened on August 18, 1993. It was the largest bus station in the world from its opening date until 2010, when it was overtaken by Delhi, India's Millennium Park Bus Depot. The station covers 230,000 m2 and a total area of 44 dunams (44,000 m2).


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## Galro (Aug 9, 2010)

SydneyCity said:


> Surprised nobody's mentioned the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea:


That was temporary stopped due to lack of financing, which is a different subject than what the OP was looking for.


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## Johnoo1 (Oct 21, 2011)

Thanks for the contributions.


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## annaamazing (Aug 30, 2012)

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Start of construction: 1997



















Opened Partially in 2008
Target completion last quarter of 2013 or first quarter of 2014


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## DiggerD21 (Apr 22, 2004)

Cologne Cathedral: 632 years (1248 - 1880)
Ulm Minster: 513 years (1377 - 1890)
Milan Cathedral: either 427 years (1386 - 1813) or 579 years (1386 - 1965)
Orléans Cathedral: 228 years (1601 - 1829)
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City: 120 years (1506 - 1626)
Salisbury Cathedral: about 110 years (1220 - around 1330)
Cathedral of La Plata: 101 years (1898 - 1999)

And lots of other churches which took decades or centuries to be completed.
:smug:


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

^^

I think the point was to find more recent buildings like your last examples, not chuches that were completed 100 or many more years ago.


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## George W. Bush (Mar 18, 2005)

Construction of the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya (Thailand) started in 1981 and is expected to finish in 2025. 
It is the tallest building entirely made of wood in the world, the height is 105 m.









source


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Sagrada Familia  - still going after a century : 










Source : http://www.pbase.com/tconelly/image/144118313


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## Johnny Casher (Oct 22, 2012)

the spliff fairy said:


> British Library took 37 years, and was vastly over budget, coming it at $725 million (without inflation), and 10x over budget. It took so long the architectural style went out of fashion decades before the 1998 opening and of course much slated, due to its resemblance to a supermarket.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is really a beaut but 37 years? Really??


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

The site moved thanks to conservationists (originally slated for a grid of 18th Century streets in front of the British Museum), and at regular intervals HM Treasury would hold meetings on why the complex was so over budget, at which point plans would have to be redrawn to cut small costs - but in the end costing more in protracted delays and arguing. Also much of it is underground, with 400 miles of shelving.
















www.universaldesignstudio.com

The building's meant to last 250 years, unfortunately .


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