Details

Subject(s)

• Architecture—Venezuela—History [Browse]
• Urban beautification—Venezuela [Browse]
• Urban renewal—Venezuela [Browse]

Editor

• Blackmore, Lisa [Browse]
• Olalquiaga, Celeste [Browse]

• Blackmore, Lisa [Browse]
• Olalquiaga, Celeste [Browse]

Series

• Urban research (Series) ; 28 cm. [More in this series]
• Urban research ; 12

Summary note

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.

Notes

Page 267 incorrectly printed as page 255.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other title(s)

Helicoide's descent from mall to prison

ISBN

• 1947198009
• 9781947198005

OCLC

1019729939

RCP

C - S

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