High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ruin value is the concept that a building be designed such that if it eventually collapsed, it would leave behind aesthetically pleasing ruins that would last far longer without any maintenance at all. The idea was pioneered by Albert Speer while planning for the 1936 Summer Olympics and published as "The Theory of Ruin Value". The intention did not stretch only to the eventual collapse of the buildings, but rather assumed such buildings were inherently better designed and more imposing during their period of use. The idea was supported by Hitler, who planned for such ruins to be a symbol of the greatness of the Third Reich, just as Greek and Roman ruins were symbolic of those civilizations. A number of other cultures have also planned for the far future and built structures which are intended to become planned ruins.