South Korea to build world's first 'invisible' skyscraper

Sign up for a free trial of News Direct's animated news graphics at http://newsdirect.nma.com.tw/Reuters.aspx

The South Korean government has approved a proposal from a US based firm, GDS Architects to build the world's first 'invisible' skyscraper near Seoul's Incheon International Airport.

Known as Tower Infinity, the 450 meters tall building reportedly will be equipped with a LED facade system on its outer wall. Eighteen weatherproof cameras will be placed at three different heights on the six sides of the building to capture real-time images of the building's surroundings. Through digital processing, the images of the building's surroundings will be scaled, rotated and merged to create a seamless panoramic image that will be projected onto the LED screens of the buildings, creating the illusion of invisibility. The company also claims that managers of the building will be able to alter the level of power used to give the building different levels of invisibility.

It was reported that the tower is being built purely for entertainment purposes. It will include a movie theater, roller coaster, water park and numerous food and beverage outlets. The tower will also have the third highest observation deck in the world.

The tower will be constructed right outside South Korea's Incheon International Airport. It was reported that the designers promised that the building will be visible to airplane pilots at all times. It will also be fitted with flashing warning lights. However, no target completion date for the tower has been released yet.

When completed, the tower will clock in as the sixth-highest tower ever built, coming in behind Tokyo's Sky Tree, Guangzhou's Canton Tower, Toronto's CN Tower, Moscow's Ostankino Tower and Shanghai's Oriental Pearl.

Видео South Korea to build world's first 'invisible' skyscraper канала News Direct