Research Catalog
Downward spiral : El Helicoide's descent from mall to prison
- Title
- Downward spiral : El Helicoide's descent from mall to prison / Celeste Olalquiaga and Lisa Blackmore, edotors.
- Publication
- New York : Terreform/Urban Research, 2018.
- ©2018
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Use in library | NA935.6 .D69 2018g | Off-site |
Holdings
Details
- Additional Authors
- Description
- 267 pages : illustrations; 28 cm.
- Summary
- Hailed in the 1950s as a beacon of Latin America's modernist architecture, Venezuela's El Helicoide is a futuristic fantasy gone sour. At its conception, this drive-through shopping center embodied a narrative of progress, fueled by soaring oil prices, consumerism, and car culture. Yet a very different story unfolded on its spiral ramps. Caught in the transition from military dictatorship to democratic rule, El Helicoide became a site of abandonment, encircled by slums, and repurposed in 1979 as an emergency shelter for flood victims. Since 1985, it has been a headquarters for national intelligence and security police agencies, and an infamous prison. Combining archival documents, critical analysis, literary texts, and visual commentary, Downward Spiral traces the turbulent history of this living ruin and reveals the dystopic side of urban modernity.
- Series Statement
- Urban research ; 12
- Uniform Title
- Urban research (Series) ; 28 cm.
- Alternative Title
- Helicoide's descent from mall to prison
- Subject
- Genre/Form
- History.
- Note
- Page 267 incorrectly printed as page 255.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 1947198009
- 9781947198005
- OCLC
- 1019729939
- SCSB-9169453
- Owning Institutions
- Columbia University Libraries