Tourist attraction or Supervillian lair?

[just Warren]

http://www.gizmag.com/the-berg-man-made-mountain-berlin/13393/


Hoax or hopeful? Sky high or pie-in-the-sky? German architect Jakob Tigges has unleashed a daring plan to create a man-made mountain in Berlin – not exactly a feature you instantly associate with the German city, but if this “project” gets approval that could change. According to The Berg website, Berliners are getting behind the project as another tourist-attracting (money-making) option for their fair city.

The 1,000m-tall fake mountain is proposed for the site of the former Tempelhof airport and would be the largest man-made mountain ever constructed, even collecting snow on its peak. But although an uninhabitable monolith of this magnitude might look appealing to some, funding for it might be another matter. Not to mention the environmental impact of such a structure.

Via the Berg website, Tigges writes: “While big and wealthy cities in many parts of the world challenge the limits of possibility by building gigantic hotels with fancy shapes, erecting sky-high office towers or constructing hovering philharmonic temples, Berlin sets up a decent mountain … Hamburg, as stiff as flat, turns green with envy, rich and once proud Munich starts to feel ashamed of its distant Alp-panorama and planners of the Middle-East, experienced in taking the spell off any kind of architectural utopia immediately design authentic copies of the iconic Berlin-Mountain.”

Whether the world is gullible or people truly want to see and experience The Berg, the project is attracting a lot of local media, a huge following on Facebook and looks to have some product endorsements already. The mountain is so big it would alter the weather surrounding it and attract a wide range of flora and fauna. It would also provide Berliners with a convenient location to enjoy a range of activities including skiing, hang-gliding and rock climbing.

It seems like a monumental task, but we’ll keep a watching brief on The Berg to see if Berlin can indeed make a mountain out of a molehill. What do you think? Potential man-made monstrosity or marvel?
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This is so odd. Before seeing this I never imagined anyone would want to build a mountain sized fake mountain. Sure Disney builds tiny fake mountains but those are just buildings skinned to look like mountains. This would be so big it would change weather patterns.

[Perd Hapley]

Doesn't "berg" mean something like "fortress"?

[Marnoot]

Doesn't "berg" mean something like "fortress"?

Berg = hill, so not too creative a name for the project

[Viking]

Doesn't "berg" mean something like "fortress"?

You're thinking of "burg", which means "castle".

[Jocassee]

I like it.

[AJ Dual]

Where the hell would they get the dirt and rock?

This is a hoax.

[RevDisk]

Schloss or burg = castle
berg = hill or mountain

[Angel Eyes]

Where the hell would they get the dirt and rock?

This is a hoax.

I'm inclined to agree.  Much of Berlin is built on swampland, from what I've read, and this presents problems with erecting really heavy structures.  Albert Speer discovered the problem when he was tasked with designing massive monuments for Hitler's postwar Germany.

I imagine someone will be along shortly with the relevant Monty Python clip.

[BlueStarLizzard]

  But although an uninhabitable monolith of this magnitude might look appealing to some, 

uninhabitale? ok, but could it like have camping and skiing and hiking and such? and with buildings and stuff? or would that make the mountain fall down?

'cause i don't see how it would even rate tourist attraction without being able to get up on it.


BTW, by far one of the silliest things ever brought to my attention on APS.

[Hawkmoon]

What do you think? Potential man-made monstrosity or marvel?

Monstrosity.

Remember those margarine commercials? "It's not NICE to fool Mother Nature!" Ask the Russians how reversing all those rivers worked out for them. Or the Chinese with that super-dam that they now can't fill to capacity because it's making the ground all around the new lake unstable.

Architects should stick to architecture and leave the creation of mountains to the deity of their choice.

[Perd Hapley]

BTW, by far one of the silliest things ever brought to my attention on APS.

We'll try harder.

[BlueStarLizzard]

We'll try harder.

of course its not nearly as silly as your avatar.

[lee n. field]

I seem to recall reading, that Hitler had some very grandiose ideas for building up Berlin, too, but the local ground wasn't up to supporting it.

[Matthew Carberry]

I seem to recall reading, that Hitler had some very grandiose ideas for building up Berlin, too, but the local ground wasn't up to supporting it.

Poor Adolf, stabbed in the back by Berlin yet again...

[Perd Hapley]

of course its not nearly as silly as your avatar.

Q*bert shall not be mocked!

[jackdanson]

Where the hell would they get the dirt and rock?

The part they don't tell you is that the worlds largest man made hill would be right next to the worlds largest man made pit.

Honestly I think it'd be awesome if they actually did it.  Not practical, not smart, but awesome.