Watch as this Bratislava hotel is transformed into a street art masterpiece

Bratislava’s iconic Hotel Kyjev has become the city’s largest new art installation.

Built in 1973, the communist-era hotel has stood empty for the past seven years. The building’s owners had planned to tear down the skyscraper in 2007, but held back following a public outcry.

The new giant mural was designed by photographer and artist Lousy Auber, who has been working on the project for the past six months. He joined a team of 17 abseiling spray painters to put the art in place, telling Slovak journalists that he wanted to start a new debate on the building’s regeneration.

The project is part of the Bratislava Street Art Festival, which has brought large scale art works to the streets of the the Slovakian capital.