For 10 days, architect, photographer, and architecture and design critic for The Guardian, Oliver Wainwright, traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea where he got tours inside buildings, with permission to photograph.

"Having been told that photography would be strictly monitored by the official guides, I was pleasantly surprised by the freedom we were given to shoot pretty much anything we wanted," Wainwright told Business Insider. "The only restrictions were on building sites — they like everything to look finished it's photographed — as well as anything connected to the military, and people at work."

He visited hotels, health and recreation centers, study houses, and more. Ahead, see rare photos inside North Korea's buildings.