MOUNTAIN OF STEEL
Inside ‘indestructible’ 417ft arrowhead skyscraper that’s survived SIX quakes… but has sat abandoned for nearly 40 years
THE Torre Insignia in Mexico City may have been abandoned for almost 40 years but it remains one of the safest buildings on Earth.
That's because the 25-floor skyscraper, which stands at a remarkable 417ft tall, has survived six earthquakes in the last 38 years.
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Torre Banobras, as it is also known, survived six major earthquakes between 1985 and 2017 without suffering any damage to its structure.
That includes the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale.
But despite all of its strengths and impressive longevity, the Torre Insignia has remained abandoned since that first catastrophic disaster 38 years ago.
But because of its safety, the infrastructure has been left to stand.
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The materials used in its construction between 1959 to 1962 were reinforced concrete, glass, and aluminium.
With a total floor area of 236,806 square feet and a surface of 83,056 square foot, it became the second tallest building in Mexico.
The building's iconic triangular prism shape, which is unmissable when walking through Mexico City, has been remodelled twice since those earthquakes, however.
But the skyscraper remains far behind the times of the more advanced and modernised buildings surrounding it.
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On one side of the tower is the Manuel Gonzalez Metrobus station.
Inside, however, are endless floors of empty rooms that were once occupied by the headquarters of government bank Banobras.
With it having minimal use since that first earthquake in 1985, the tower is practically empty inside.
But it does at least still contain the tallest carillon in the world, with the percussion instrument installed in the building's highest point.
Imported as a gift from the Belgian government, it has been a mainstay since the building's formation.
There are also 47 bells to go with it, made by former Dutch foundry Petit & Fritsen, which weigh 26 tons and stretch 125 metres.
Yolanda Fernandez de Cordoba was the main carillonist until the earthquakes struck.
But even when the building became abandoned, she would play the carillon on special occasions.
However, there have been reports that Yolanda passed away in 2018.
And with it believed that she was Mexico’s only living carillonist, it is unclear if the carillon in the Torre Insignia will ever be played again.
In Venezuela, an enormous skyscraper known as the Tower of David became home to thousands of people with nowhere else to go.
It became a city within a city, with its own running water, electricity, shops, security guards and even electric fences.
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In South Africa, haunting images have revealed the inside of an abandoned city built in a hollow skyscraper.
The Ponte City building was once hijacked by gangs in 1990s Johannesburg and was piled high with bodies before its transformation.
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