21.2.10
// sex bomb
Evgeny Plushenko 2006 Olympics gold medalist, 2010 Olympics silver medalist...funniest man on ice.
20.2.10
19.2.10
18.2.10
// judge a book by its cover
Some people like to think that they are beyond making assumptions based on looks and appearances, but they all do it, it's human nature. If you still won't admit you're the same superficial fuck like everyone else, this image should convince you. This work is done by Reclarkgable featuring the same couple in different attires. Sad but true, appearances do matter.
11.2.10
// ponte tower
I came across this
disturbing image during my research on mass housing. It struck me as the most
depressing and dehumanizing architectural moment to the best of my
recollection, I was profoundly fascinated. Here's a quick rundown of the
building.
Ponte Tower, designed by
Manfred Hermer, also known as the Ponte City Apartments, was built in
Johannesburg in 1975, and is still the tallest residential skyscraper in
Africa. It is a 54-story tube with an open center to allow additional light to
reach its inner apartments. It was in its heyday one of the city's most
coveted addresses, described by newspapers at the time as "heaven on
earth".
Ponte Tower was a
true example of Apartheid-era thinking. The apartments facing the outside of
the building were designated for rich white families while the inner
apartments, in permanent twilight, were meant for their black servants. Life in
the building became truly brutal after the fall of Apartheid. As crime rose in
the once-upscale Hillbrow neighborhood, numerous gangs moved into building.
Ponte Tower became a center of organized crime activity, and life in the
building become extremely unsafe. The building has been dubbed as ‘suicide
central’ - people from all over town would go there to jump. The windows around
the inner core were all barred, and most still are. Owners all but abandoned
the structure to decay. At one point the garbage piled five stories high in the
open inner courtyard of the building.
Fun Fact #1 Danny Boyle maker of Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later has made a
political thriller that was shot on location in this tower.
Fun Fact #2 There was reportedly a huge effort to clean up Ponte City in order to
use it for athletes’ residence during World Cup 2010. However, there were
questionable business dealings, controversy, and, eventually, no project.
Fun Fact #3 Ponte hit its lowest point when in 1998 it was suggested that it be
turned into a prison, an idea soon discarded.
Dear Mr. Hermer, You know
you failed as an architect when your building raises suicide rates, stars in a
blood-fest thriller, and evokes convert-to-prison proposals.
more
unsettling images after the break
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