La Torre de David: the vertical slum of Caracas - in pictures
The Tower of David in the Venezuelan capital had work on it stopped in 1994 when the economy collapsed, now it is home to hundreds of low-income families
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The 45-storey office block was designed by the Venezuelan architect Enrique Gómez and was almost complete when it was abandoned in 1994
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH
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Torre David is home to a community of more than 300 families, living in the 'vertical slum'
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH
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An improvised gym on top of the tower
Photograph: Iwan Baan/WENN.com
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Jorge Luis Cadena with his wife, Yecenia, and one of his three children
Photograph: Leo Alvarez for the Guardian
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Cadena works as a taxi driver to supplement his income
Photograph: Leo Alvarez for the Guardian
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Jorge Luis Cadena with his wife Yecenia Polanco. Flats in the skyscraper are highly coveted
Photograph: Leo Alvarez for the Guardian
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Inside the building – while the apartments are made homely by their inhabitants, the communal areas cannot hide their incomplete nature
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETHk
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The abandoned building was a setting in the US series Homeland
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH
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Steps inside the abandoned building - there are no lifts so Cadena and his family have to climb 26 floors every time they come home
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH
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A family inside their apartment at La Torre
Photograph: Angela Bonadies/Archivolatino/Redux/eyevine
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The highrise was originally conceived as a bank by financier David Brillembourg, but he died in 1993 - just as the economy imploded
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH
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Children play in the corridors at La Torre
Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH
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