Glancing round the modern apartment high above the streets of downtown Johannesburg, it’s hard to believe we’re in one of the most notorious buildings in South Africa. The walls are painted in understated neutral tones, the furniture tasteful, the room airy. But it wasn’t that long ago that these same walls contained criminals and gangsters.
A 54-storey cylindrical skyscraper dominating the area around it, Ponte City was built in 1975 in the Hillbrow district. It was upmarket housing, originally – its tall doughnut-like appearance (it’s hollow inside) was a draw, and its hollow core, telescoping up to the blue sky, would feature in architecture and design shoots aplenty.
