flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

High-rise 'slum' in Venezuela to be shuttered

High-rise 'slum' in Venezuela to be shuttered

The tower, called Torre David, is 45 stories of incomplete concrete, glass and steel.


By BD+C Staff | July 24, 2014

For more than 4,400 squatters in Caracas, Venezuela, the time has come to move on. An unfinished skyscraper that has stood in the city for over a decade has become home to not only people, but shops, basketball courts and prayer meetings.

Authorities have decided to move the squatters out, allegedly to investigate the structural soundness of the tower, which is the country's third-tallest skyscraper, the Miami Herald reports. 

The tower, called Torre David, is 45 stories of incomplete concrete, glass and steel. Construction began on the building in 1990, but screeched to a halt when financial crisis struck Venezuela in 1994. The building was about 60 percent complete at the time, and construction never resumed. 

Over time, it became a vertical city for squatters. The community really kicked off in 2007, when an evangelical minister led the occupation of the building.

There are rumors that the tower is being cleared because Chinese developers bought the site, but the government says they are unfounded.

Related Stories

| Nov 15, 2011

Suffolk Construction breaks ground on the Victor housing development in Boston

Project team to manage construction of $92 million, 377,000 square-foot residential tower.

| Oct 20, 2011

Johnson Controls appoints Wojciechowski to lead real estate and facilities management business for Global Technology sector

Wojciechowski will be responsible for leading the continued growth of the technology vertical market, while building on the expertise the company has developed serving multinational technology companies. 

| Oct 18, 2011

Michel Bruneau wins 2012 AISC T.R. Higgins Award

The AISC T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award is presented annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and recognizes an outstanding lecturer and author whose technical paper(s) are considered an outstanding contribution to the engineering literature on fabricated structural steel. 

| Oct 12, 2011

Vertical Transportation Systems Reach New Heights

Elevators and escalators have been re-engineered to help building owners reduce energy consumption and move people more efficiently. 

| Oct 6, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: NEXT Living EcoSuite showcased

  Tridel teams up with Cisco and Control4 to unveil the future of green condo living in Canada.

| Oct 5, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Johnson Controls announces Panoptix, a new approach to building efficiency

Panoptix combines latest technology, new business model and industry-leading expertise to make building efficiency easier and more accessible to a broader market.

| Oct 5, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Sustainable construction should stress durability as well as energy efficiency

There is now a call for making enhanced resilience of a building’s structure to natural and man-made disasters the first consideration of a green building. 

| Oct 4, 2011

GREENBUILD 2011: Methods, impacts, and opportunities in the concrete building life cycle

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub conducted a life-cycle assessment (LCA) study to evaluate and improve the environmental impact and study how the “dual use” aspect of concrete.

| Sep 20, 2011

Jeanne Gang wins MacArthur Fellowship

Jeanne Gang, a 2011 MacArthur Fellowship winner described by the foundation as "an architect challenging the aesthetic and technical possibilities of the art form in a wide range of structures."

| Sep 14, 2011

Lend Lease’s role in 9/11 Memorial & Museum

Lend Lease is honored to be the general contractor for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum project at the World Trade Center site in New York City.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 




Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021