by Laura Mallonee
Wired, Dec 15, 2015
(Image: Grand People’s Study House, Pyongyang, 1982. Courtesy Wired, photo by Oliver Wainwright)
MINT. APRICOT. LAVENDER. These aren’t flavors of overpriced artisanal ice cream, but the unexpected colors that dominate the architecture of Pyongyang, a world Oliver Wainwright reveals in North Korean Interiors.
Wainwright, a design critic for The Guardian, visited Pyongyang in late July for a 10-day tour of the city’s architecture. He found relatively modern buildings bedecked in bright hues. “I have to say [Pyongyang] is honestly one of the most colorful cities I’ve ever been to,” Wainwright says. “You expect a gray, crumbling, 1950s dystopia of decaying concrete, but they’ve made a real conscious effort to try and cheer the place up.” Read more…