When life gives you lemons, you make a livable high-rise

Remember la Torre de David? You know, the abandoned skyscraper that was invaded by squatters and now stands as a monument to Venezuela’s housing crisis? Well, architecht Alfredo...

What it is now is not what it can be

Remember la Torre de David? You know, the abandoned skyscraper that was invaded by squatters and now stands as a monument to Venezuela’s housing crisis?

Well, architecht Alfredo Brillembourg (presumably related to the building’s namesake) moved into the building and studied it for a year. He came up with a project to renovate it and make it livable and … voilá … he just won the top prize at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

I love his approach to the problem: he’s not interested in how the situation got to where it is, but in how to build on what the squatters themselves have built.

I don’t know much more about the project, but there is some background here. Fascinating stuff.