糖心Vlog

How did a futuristic shopping centre in Venezuelan capital Caracas become a political prison with more than 300 inmates, and is it a metaphor for modern Venezuela? A new book co-edited by 糖心Vlog art historian Dr Lisa Blackmore aims to find out.

It was meant to be a landmark; a symbol of 1950s Venezuela’s prosperity and confidence. El Helicoide was conceived as the most technologically advanced shopping centre in the Americas, designed to house 300 boutiques along two miles of concrete ramps arranged in a spiral.

El Helicoide didn鈥檛 open. Construction stopped during the transitional period that followed the fall of the country鈥檚 military dictatorship in 1958 and the building has never become a civic space. It was an emergency flood shelter from 1979 to 1982, when some 10,000 people lived in trailer homes and improvised huts built into the spaces originally intended for shops. In 1985 it became the headquarters of Venezuela鈥檚 intelligence services. Today the crumbling concrete structure is a political prison with more than 300 inmates.

The story is explored in Downward Spiral: El Helicoide鈥檚 Descent from Mall to Prison, edited by cultural historian Celeste Olalquiaga, founder and director of , and from our .

鈥淓l Helicoide is an emblematic ruin,鈥� says Dr Blackmore. 鈥淎s well as a singular piece of failed architecture, it emblematises the way that Venezuela's urban utopia lapsed into a form of makeshift modernity. As a mirror of modern history in Venezuela, El Helicoide is a powerful and material testament to deep-rooted social disparities and, most recently, to political divides.鈥�

Unlike most recent books on modern ruins, Downward Spiral is a specialised monograph focusing on one building. Dr Blackmore explains: 

鈥淭he book tells its story from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, with contributions that encompass academic essays, literary genres (short story, testimonials, comic), as well as artistic works that help illustrate the depth of the El Helicoide phenomenon.鈥�  

鈥楧ownward Spiral: El Helicoide鈥檚 Descent from Mall to Prison鈥� is forthcoming this year from Urban Research (UR), the imprint of Terreform.