Foster + Partners' unfinished Harmon Hotel on the Las Vegas strip in the US is set to be demolished without even opening its doors.
On 22 April, MGM Resorts International received approval to tear down Foster + Partners’ failing structure owing to reinforcing steel not being correctly installed on 15 floors of the 47 story building.
The building was intended to provide 207 luxury residences and 400 hotel bedrooms, as well as a spa and several restaurants. It was also part of the 27-hectare CityCentre development by MGM, which also features an ARIA Resort and Casino, Vdara Hotel and Spa, and Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, as well as a luxury shopping destination.
The construction gaffe has cost US$279 million (£165 million, €203 million) and will cost another US$11.5 million (£6.8 million, €8.3 million) to dismantle.
In a statement, Gordon Absher, a spokesperson for MGM said that "CityCenter consulted with experts about the fastest and safest way to resolve public safety concerns created by the structural defect issues at the Harmon."
Unlike the previous spectacles of old Vegas hotels being blown up with explosives, the demolition will be a painstaking affair, with the building coming down floor by floor over the next year.
