7 ABANDONED WONDERS OF RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

7 Abandoned Wonders of Residential Architecture
By Steph, Web Urbanist, 4 February 2013.

Palatial chateaus, ordinary suburban homes, skyscraper residences and vertical slums alike have been abandoned by their human inhabitants and given over to rot and ruin. Whether they represent once-opulent refuges for the rich or some of the most shocking conditions of abject poverty in the world, these 7 ghostly abandoned wonders of residential architecture are deliciously creepy and strangely beautiful, if a bit sad.

1. Chateau de Noisy, Belgium

Images via: polanri

Officially named Chateau Miranda, this neo-gothic castle was built in 1866 by an English architect who passed away before it was completed. It served as a summer residence for a wealthy family until it was commandeered by Nazis during World War II. For decades afterward, Chateau Miranda operated as a hotel and accommodation for children of Belgian road employees, but in 1991, a fire led to its abandonment. Since then, it has been given over to decay.

Touring the dilapidated chateau is fairly dangerous, as most of the upper floors have decayed and fallen through. It’s a shame to see something that was once so beautiful fall into ruin. Urban explorers give a first-hand account of sneaking in and taking some beautiful photos of the interior at TalkUrbex.com.

2. Sathorn Unique Skyscraper, Thailand

Images via: abandonedjourney.com, earth-bound misfit

The 47-story Sathorn Unique Tower was supposed to be a well-appointed modern residence for well-to-do citizens of Bangkok, Thailand. Now, it’s a ghost tower, standing eerily empty and silent against the skyline of the city, its concrete surfaces already stained and rusted. Developers built this and many other skyscrapers in Bangkok during an economic boom, but fortunes fell, the developers went bankrupt, and the buildings stand empty. During storms, debris from the structures rain down upon the streets below. Inside, it’s virtually pitch black, and exposed metal pipes and frames should make explorers wonder when they last had a tetanus shot. At the top, however, it’s easy to see why this would have become one of the city’s most prestigious addresses.

3. Abandoned Prince’s House, Russia

Images via: english russia

Perhaps abandoned mansions, castles and chateaus are so fascinating because it’s difficult for many of us to understand how something that cost so much money could be allowed to decay. Someone went through the trouble of designing the home, choosing decorative elements and purchasing fine fixtures, only for them to be ruined far before they should have. This Russian prince’s house located on the Black Sea in Abkhazia is one example. Overlooking what was known to upper-class Russians as the ‘Russian Riviera’, the castle is nearly 200 years old.

But, like many things, it lost its grandeur during the Soviet era. It was converted to the Hotel Seagull on Stalin’s orders, a summer residence for male government officials from Moscow. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, it was abandoned; with the nation of Georgia so often at war, restoring it is not exactly a high priority. [More here]

4. Kolmanskop, Namibia

Images via: wikimedia commons, geoftheref, coda

Among the most surreal abandonments is the old diamond mining town of Kolmanskop in Namibia. This ghost town was once a small but very rich village, filled with German miners who were attracted by the potential for quick and easy wealth. It’s built in a German architectural style. The town declined after World War I, and was abandoned altogether in 1954.

The most interesting thing about Kolmanskop is the fact that its homes, hospital, ballroom, school and other buildings are now filled with sand, making it seem as if they’re sinking. The hot, windy desert climate blows sand in through the windows and doors. [More here and here]

5. Steve Jobs Abandoned Mansion, California, USA

Images via: jonathan haeber

The life of Steve Jobs is already the stuff of legend, but here’s one story that not many people know: that of Jobs’ abandoned mansion in Woodside, California. Jackling Mansion was built in 1925 as a residence for copper mining baron Daniel Cowan Jackling and his family, and designed by architect George Washington Smith in Spanish Colonial Revival style. Steve Jobs bought the 17,000-square-foot home in 1984, and lived there for about 10 years before renting it out. In the year 2000, Jobs reportedly stopped maintaining the building, and it fell into disrepair. It wasn’t long before the historical structure began to crumble, its most impressive elements - like a massive pipe organ - left to rot.

Jobs intended to demolish the original mansion and build a new one in its place, but a group of local preservationists objected, leading to a legal battle that lasted until 2011. Jobs eventually won the right to demolish the house, and it was torn down just months before his death. Thankfully, photographer Jonathan Haeber was able to capture these images while it was still relatively intact.

6. Detroit’s 45,000 Abandoned Houses, USA

Images via: marchand meffre, james griffoen, luca, jessica reeder

Detroit’s ruin is legendary. The city has become a potent symbol of economic and social collapse, with thousands of its residents fleeing after the decline of the auto industry led to even more dramatic poverty and class friction than it had ever experienced before. Detroit has an estimated 45,000 abandoned homes, with the total number of abandoned structures reaching into the hundreds of thousands. Even its public parks are closing.

This has led to a ghostly urban landscape filled with the rotting remains of human habitation. Many of the homes are being overtaken by nature, camouflaged to blend into the overgrown greenery around them.

7. Edificio Sao Vito, Brazil

Images via: wikimedia commons, thomas hobbes

Throughout its existence from 1959 to 2004, Edificio São Vito was known as São Paulo’s biggest vertical slum. Known to locals as Treme-Treme (shiver-shiver), the 27-story, 367-foot-tall building was conceived as a solution for popular housing, aimed at liberal professionals, immigrants, travellers and recent transplants from other cities. It originally had 624 apartments measuring 300 square feet each. By 1985, it was filled with three-thousand mostly low-income inhabitants, and apartments began to be split into multiple units. A lack of waste services meant trash and dirty water was simply dumped out the windows. In 2002, just one of the three elevators was working, leading to half-hour waits to get up or down. The building had become extremely dangerous - an inevitable death trap in the case of fire. Over the years, residents began leaving due to high levels of crime, until it was virtually abandoned. It was evacuated in 2004 and finally demolished in 2011. [More here]

[Source: Web Urbanist. Edited. Some links added.]