Downward Spiral: El Helicoide's Descent from Mall to Prison. ISBN 1947198009

by Celeste Olalquiaga, Lisa Blackmore, Pedro Alonso (Contributor)

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.

Downward El Helicoide's Descent from Mall to Prison

Celeste Olalquiaga and Lisa Blackmore

Pedro Alonso, Carola Barrios, Ángela Bonadies, Bonadies & Olavarría, Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, René Davids, Liliana De Simone, Luis Duno-Gottberg, Diego Larrique, Vicente Lecuna, Engel Leonardo, Albinson Linares, Sandra Pinardi, Iris Rosas, Alberto Sato, Elisa Silva, Federico Vegas, Jorge Villota. Designed by Álvaro Sotillo and Gabriella Fontanillas (VACA).

"This anthology offers a veritable 360 degree tour of El Helicoide’s history from conception to ruin, revealing in its various twists and turns a profound view into more than half a century of Venezuelan politics, as well as the follies of 20th century automobile urbanism." —Barry Bergdoll, Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History, Columbia University

268 pages, Textbook Binding

Published January 1, 2018