Fairy-tales and horror stories

Just take a look at some of the current projects in Dubai, China, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. In China there is Fushun city. Imagine the most unusual, almost absurd building, in the shape of a huge steel ring. One which is 157m tall. It is called ?The Ring of Life' and is supposed to symbolise the gate to paradise. The building is an impressive example of engineering craftsmanship. But is it anything more than that? Not really. It is simply a symbol - if it is possible to create such a structure, let's build it. And at a cost of USD 16 mln, using 3 tonnes of steel and 12,000 LED lamps. The people behind this creation claim that the building's calibre matches that of the Eiffel Tower.Let's move to Indonesia, to stifling and muggy Jakarta. An unusual structure is to be developed in this city of nearly 10 mln inhabitants - Peruri 88, which is to be a 400m tall monstrosity, a self-sufficient city within a city. It is intended to be the new symbol of Jakarta. This gigantic enterprise seems to