9. The Palace of Soviets

The Palace of Soviets was a massive architectural project undertaken by the Soviet Union at the outset of WWII. It was a building in Moscow designed to be an administrative center and congress hall, and if finished it would have become the world’s tallest structure. The plan for the building was decided via a countrywide public contest where 272 building concepts were submitted, and after a lengthy judging process, architect Boris Iofan was declared the winner. Construction on the building began in 1937, and by 1941 the building’s huge steel frame had been erected. Russian involvement in WWII brought an abrupt end to construction, and the building’s steel frame was eventually cut, dismantled, and used to build fortifications and railway bridges in and around Moscow. After the war ended, there was much talk of completing the project, but though the site was kept open until 1958, the Palace of Soviets was eventually abandoned.