November 19, 2017

An architectural disaster

Once upon a time South Africa was a first-world nation.  As such, it had the usual quota of goofy urban architects determined to "make a bold statement."

One such "statement" was Johannesburg's Ponte Tower--the tallest apartment building in Africa at 53 stories.  That alone was...um...highly unusual, but the really bizarre thing about it was that the structure is a hollow cylinder or tube.  So on the ground floor you're at the bottom of a 53-story atrium.  The view is scary.

It's hard to imagine that anyone ever thought this was a great idea, but before the former white government turned the country over to the communists of the ANC the building attracted high-end tenants and was reasonably well maintained.

With the takeover by the ANC, things changed quickly.  The downtown area quickly became a hotbed of crime, especially against whites.  The result was a mass exodus of whites.  The new management...well, here's a short video of the thing.  If you're short of time just watch the first two-and-a-half minutes.

Short answer:  After two years the bottom of the atrium was a trash pile three stories high.

The film-maker focuses on one white guy who lives in the place, who claims everything is fine now.  I'm skeptical, but it's possible.  But in any case that building is way, way ugly and depressing.  And again the question:  Who in their right mind could ever have thought this was a good design?

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