We are in September 1937 in the small village of Belchite located about 50 kilometers from Zaragoza. The Spanish Civil War has been raging for a year already and thousands of Spaniards died. By the end of the conflict in April 1939, they will be...
Abandoned in June 2014, the old movie theater had only a few decorative elements including the ceiling and its front to recall the original purpose of the building. It must be said that once closed in 1982, the intern architecture has been completely renovated to accommodate a second floor with a community gym.
That means that the first floor has been completely transformed. The bleachers have been trashed and the structure of the building was laid bare to re-divide the space. The result was such that there was no trace of the movie theater past on the ground floor. New premises were built to host the dressing rooms, a hair salon, workout rooms and more.
Today, the basement is flooded where stagnates a musty smell escape from the ten centimeters of water to your nose. Add to that the first floor who shows traces of mold here and there.
Upstairs, where a large gym has required a great gerrymandering of the Streamline Moderne architecture style of the building (late branch of the Art Deco style that emerged in the 30s but is often associated to the 1950s), we are found a few vestiges of that bygone era. Emmanuel Briffa, the interior designer responsible for the decor would have turned in his grave a few times if he had seen the result ...
We are in September 1937 in the small village of Belchite located about 50 kilometers from Zaragoza. The Spanish Civil War has been raging for a year already and thousands of Spaniards died. By the end of the conflict in April 1939, they will be...
Opened in 1531 in Anvers to replace the old stock exchange in Hofstraat, the "Handelsbeurs" (New Exchange) was designed by the Antwerp architect, Domien De Waghemakere (1460-1542) and burnt down on two occasions, in 1583 and 1858. After the last...
Like all good stories, d'Alcantara's begins with «once upon a time»... A Belgian aristocrat of Spanish origin, Count Carlos d'Alcantara, is madly in love with a beautiful French ballerina. His parents view this idyll with a...
Built in 1976, not much remains of this former 148 rooms hotel. In fact, apart from a concrete structure and graffitis, there is only industrial waste. The building has 18 floors and looks like an old white elephant amidst a changing neighborhood...