Some afternoon in late 2005, Ingo Niermann and Jens Thiel meet for green tea and coffee at Berlin´s Bar 103. Jens tosses up the idea of reviving the pyramid as a burial custom. He suggests, introducing cemetery pyramids large scale in one of the new German states´ fledging economies may provide this region with new attractions.

Jens also mentions the recently issued domus magazine contest, that calls for ideas what might be done with the Pyongyang Ryugyong hotel, a 330 m tall concrete ruin situated right in the center of the North Korean capital. Ingo, surprised and fascinated by the existence of that structure, immediately comes up with the radical concept of installing a cemetery in the 360,000 sqm, 105-storey shell.

The Great Pyramid idea´s very first draft begins to emerge in a rather odd way.

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Rygugyong hotel photo above courtesy pricey´s flickr.