The Tower of David

The Tower of David

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Venezuela's "Tower of David" boasts a helicopter landing pad, glorious views of the Avila mountain range, and large balconies for weekend barbecues.

Yet this 45-storey skyscraper in the centre of Venezuela's capital Caracas is no five-star hotel or swanky apartment block: it is a slum, probably the highest in the world.

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

The building was intended to be a shining new financial centre but was abandoned around 1994 after the death of its developer - financier David Brillembourg, from whom it takes its name - and a massive run on Venezuela's banking sector.

Squatters invaded the huge concrete skeleton in 2007, then-president Hugo Chavez's socialist government turned a blind eye, and now about 3,000 people call the tower their home.

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Work was sufficiently advanced by the time the tower was abandoned for the first 28 floors to be habitable, though the squatters have had to brick up dangerous open spaces, and put in their own basic plumbing, electrical and water systems.

Today the tower boasts shops, a dentist, and a beauty salon as well as many homes and spacious terraces, like the one where 30-year-old Gabriel Rivas is pictured working out in the image above.

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Though many Caracas residents view the tower as a den of thieves and a symbol of rampant disrespect for property, residents call the building a safe haven that rescued them from the capital's crime-ridden slums.

Families pay a 200 bolivar ($32) "condominium" fee, which helps fund 24-hour security patrols and communal corridors are freshly-polished.

Rules and rotas are posted everywhere, and non-compliance is punished with extra "social work" decided by a cooperative and floor delegates who make up a mini-government.

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

"There is far more order and far less crime in here than out there," says 27th-floor resident Thais Ruiz.

Like many inhabitants, Ruiz abandoned her shack in the violent Petare slum of east Caracas in 2010 to build a spacious four-bedroom apartment in the tower where she lives with her husband and five children.

"I never lived in an apartment before. We're so comfortable now," she says. "We had to get out of Petare and the daily gang shootouts. Once we found a dead body on our doorstep. Now look, we can leave the door wide open."

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

But few deny that conditions in the tower can be precarious. One young girl fell through a hole in the wall to her death a few years back, and a drunk motorcyclist rode off an edge and killed himself.

Police have raided the building a couple of times searching for kidnap victims, adding to its notoriety, and neighbours in the surrounding area have complained of frequent robberies, ATM hold-ups, and drug trafficking taking place under the noses of authorities.

Residents acknowledge the tower had problems with crime but insist miscreants have been kicked out over the last 18 months, and that a new leadership is keeping the house in order.

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

To opposition supporters in polarised Venezuela, the "Tower of David" is a symbol both of the lawlessness they say Chavez let flourish during his rule, and government failure to provide adequate housing for a burgeoning population.

Many inhabitants, however, are fierce supporters of the former president.

"Chavez's legacy is the values you see right here in this tower," said Nicolas Alvarez, pictured above, a 38-year-old filmmaker who first entered the building to give photography courses and ended up moving in.

"What Chavez did was to rescue the sense that we all have the same right to live on this planet."

. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

The unique quality of the Tower of David has won it attention beyond Venezuela. Documentaries and analyses of the building have shown up at trendy art festivals around the world: one exhibition about the tower won a prize at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Many disagree as to whether the Tower of David sets a dangerous precedent of illegal property invasion, or an amazing example of a people-led transformation of a decrepit space into a vibrant community. Or a mixture of the two.

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Slideshow

The Tower of David stands silhouetted against the sky.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

The Tower of David stands silhouetted against the sky.

Men salvage metal from the 30th storey of the tower.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Men salvage metal from the 30th storey of the tower.

The group takes metal from the upper floor.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

The group takes metal from the upper floor.

People walk by a stairwell on the 10th floor of the building.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

People walk by a stairwell on the 10th floor of the building.

A resident named Beatriz fills out a crossword as she takes care of her grandchildren outside their apartment in the Tower of David.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A resident named Beatriz fills out a crossword as she takes care of her grandchildren outside their apartment in the Tower of David.

Eighteen-year-old Francisco cooks inside his apartment.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Eighteen-year-old Francisco cooks inside his apartment.

Adriana Gutierrez and her son Carlos Adrian watch TV in their 24th-floor apartment.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Adriana Gutierrez and her son Carlos Adrian watch TV in their 24th-floor apartment.

A resident named Maria works in a sewing workshop in her apartment.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A resident named Maria works in a sewing workshop in her apartment.

A woman looks out of her shop inside the Tower of David.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A woman looks out of her shop inside the Tower of David.

A shop stands inside the tower.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A shop stands inside the tower.

A man walks through the lobby of the tower on his way to work.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A man walks through the lobby of the tower on his way to work.

Youngsters play in a lobby area in the building.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Youngsters play in a lobby area in the building.

Part of the tower is illuminated at night.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Part of the tower is illuminated at night.

Teenagers chat on the 10th floor of the tower.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Teenagers chat on the 10th floor of the tower.

Paola Medina, 29, packs her luggage as she prepare to leave her apartment after living in the "Tower of David" for almost a year.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Paola Medina, 29, packs her luggage as she prepare to leave her apartment after living in the "Tower of David" for almost a year.

A woman uses her mobile phone during a blackout in the building.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A woman uses her mobile phone during a blackout in the building.

A man sits with his family in his apartment inside the Tower of David.
. CARACAS, Venezuela. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A man sits with his family in his apartment inside the Tower of David.