Completed as a pair of interconnected towers, one residential and the other commercial, the structure rises to 156 metres and stands as one of the most defining examples of brutalist architecture in the former Yugoslavia

Suspended above the skyline on its narrow stem, capped by a concrete circular crown, it could easily be mistaken for the city’s defining landmark. The kind of building that announces a modern capital to the world. But Romanita is not the building Chișinău chose, and today, it barely survives at all.

Once the inspiration for the iconic Sandcrawlers from George Lucas's Star Wars movies, today the iconic Hôtel du Lac stands somewhere suspended between demolition and abandonment, sparred from the wrecking ball only due to concerns with asbestos.

The inverted pyramid of Hôtel du Lac was more than concrete and steel. It was an architectural declaration of independence. Today, it stands suspended between demolition and abandonment, its fate temporarily delayed only by concerns over asbestos.

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