# Where's this building? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527 "2008-02-06T15:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/1 "2008-02-06T15:50:13Z")
[http://img.ircimages.com/ircimages/f/d/fdb4f079b1ba36bc380f89a747f3c22c.jpg](http://img.ircimages.com/ircimages/f/d/fdb4f079b1ba36bc380f89a747f3c22c.jpg) I have a vague recollection of it being in some African city, Lagos or Johannesburg but I can’t find reference to it when I search. I seem to recall it was built as high-class apartments but is now a tenement. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/2 "2008-02-06T15:59:05Z")
On the Deathstar? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/3 "2008-02-06T16:00:59Z")
That’s some depressing architecture. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/4 "2008-02-06T16:14:40Z")
Ponte City Apartments in Johannesburg: [Ponte City - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_City_Apartments) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/5 "2008-02-06T16:42:13Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] That’s some depressing architecture. [/QUOTE] Per the wiki link, [it doesn’t have to be that bad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PonteCore.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/6 "2008-02-06T17:09:50Z")
Shudder. I have an unnatural fear of freaky looking buildings and cylindrical ones are right at the top of the list. I don’t believe I could live near this one. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/7 "2008-02-06T17:28:57Z")
[QUOTE=WOOKINPANUB] Shudder. I have an unnatural fear of freaky looking buildings and cylindrical ones are right at the top of the list. I don’t believe I could live near this one. :eek: [/QUOTE] Apart from any actual fear of them, cylindrical buildings can be a pain in the ass. I worked briefly at Oracle, whose office towers look like overgrown water heaters, and shared a pie-slice shaped office with another person. Very inconvenient shape, particularly in the smaller pie slices accorded to staff, rather than executives. It gets odd when status conferred by offices is measured in radians. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/8 "2008-02-06T17:41:32Z")
Thank you, **bibliophage**. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/9 "2008-02-06T18:38:43Z")
26°11’25.37"S 28° 3’26.23"E on Google Earth. A black hole. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/10 "2008-02-07T23:40:33Z")
Now I know where David Weber got the inspiration for the architecture of Nouveau Paris. And yes, in the books, the empty-core cylindrical housing complexes were falling apart, too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Wing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@Little\_Wing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Wing)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-this-building/436527/11 "2008-02-08T05:33:23Z")
Man, that made my stomach lurch. Ugh.