Although construction was never completed, El Helicoide (The Helix) in Caracas remains one of the most important relics of the Modern movement in Venezuela. The 73,000-square-meter project, designed in 1955 by Jorge Romero Gutiérrez, Peter Neuberger, and Dirk Bornhorst, takes the form of a double spiral topped by a large geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller. It is characterized by a series of ascending and descending ramps intended to carry visitors to its variety of programmatic spaces, including 320 shops, a 5-star hotel, offices, a playground, a television studio, and a space for events and conventions.
Today, Proyecto Helicoide aims to rescue the urban history and memory of the building through a series of exhibitions, publications, and educational activities.
Built on an unprecedented scale for Caracas at the time, and featuring a series of ascending and descending ramps that allowed visitors to access any of the mall's stores or spaces, the reinforced concrete project seemed destined for success. It featured the collaboration of Burle Marx, was exhibited as a triumph of modernist design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, attracted the interest of Salvador Dalí, who offered to decorate its interior, and was even described as "one of the most exquisite creations to spring from the mind of an architect" by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.
Nevertheless, financial difficulties prevented the project's completion. For decades, it was inhabited by squatters; today, it serves as the headquarters of Venezuela's National Intelligence Agency (SEBIN), a fact that has cast a controversial shadow over the building, negatively influencing the public's perception of it.
This is precisely what Proyecto Helicoide hopes to change. Created and directed by cultural historian Celeste Olalquiaga (together with a group of historians, architects, artists, and museum professionals), the organization seeks to document and present the building's history through a series of exhibitions, lectures, guided tours, and even a book of critical essays.
In May 2014, the project launched a crowd-funding campaign that failed to raise the expected funds. However, its dissemination can help generate a network of support to revalue its architectural and heritage significance, encouraging its preservation in the future.
Source: Hyperallergic
