Perth : Yet Another Abandoned Old Peoples Joint / Running for Council

Speaking of abandoned old people's homes, I'm seriously contemplating running for Council. Perth City Council, councillor. PCC. I mean, fucking come on, two of the current councillors are Real Estate agents. I've dealt with one of the other councillors before. The conversation went  "Mr Councillor, I have noticed a lack of motorcycle car bays in the city. Perhaps, in the spirit of helping to keep the city free of cars and the associated congestion and pollution, and to assist the PCC in its directive of making the CBD a more pedestrian friendly area, you would consider putting in a few more motorcycle/scooter bays?" Mr Councillor : "fuck you". There's a couple of other old, old, old councillors. Combined age, about a million. Too old. Time to move on, GPBB's (Grand Parents of Baby Boomers). There's an Asian councillor chick, and a young-ish [Glen Quagmire] all-riiiight  [/ Glenn Quagmire] whitey lady that claimed $594 for hair expenses, in a single month. Fair enough. Those two birds should probably be runnin' tings. But of course, when I get there, with the help of my cronies, we run ting's, tings nuh run we...

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Perth : Abandoned Toy Factory, O'Connor. AKA, Detroit.

Abandoned Toy Factory, Detroit, AKA O'Connor, Perth, Western Australia. Detroit is a shrinking city. In the few decades that Perth, Western Australia has gained a million residents, Detroit, Michigan, has lost a million. Mostly whiteys. Mostly.  Look, I could totally check that, and prove it as fact. Right in front of me, I have the "Atlas of Shrinking Cities". Picked it up at the Bahaus bookshop this year. That's in Germany. Dessau, Germany. Atlas der schrumpfenden Städte. A's with dots, you can't make that shit up. 2006, Phillipp Oswalt und Tim Reieniets. Henning Schirmel, you know it. So, I just checked, Detroit 1950, 1,849,568 heads. Perth 1950, 312 thousand. Who gives a fuck. There's no point. This is O'Connor, not Detroit. But, for a few hours last month, it was Detroit. Here's an abandoned Wooden Toy Factory, and some other shots of O'Connor, one of Perth's most serene and beautiful locales. If Bali was our 911, O'Connor is, our Detroit.

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Perth, Australia : Best House in the Universe as We Know It

Man. Where to start. Last blog post, I was forty stories up, in an abandoned skyscraper, looking down on a peoples takeover of Bangkok. Rocket launchers, tanks, death, destruction, and Pad Thai with spicy Papaya Salad. Yes, it was heaven. Unfortunately, as with all anarchic movements, eventually, they are beaten into submission by the man. So, I packed up, said goodbye to my new friend Sui Min, and left the land of smiles. This year, so far, I have visited more than twenty countries. Deep in the heart of Bulgaria, I couldn't but think of my favourite architect, Iwan Iwanoff. For those of you who need to get up to speed, Iwan Iwanoff, born in Bulgaria, built some of the best houses on earth, right here in Perth, between the 50's and 70's. Unique, ahead of their time, mesmerising, both timeless and un-date-able. First thing I wanted to do on my return to Perth was further research into this Honorary Herculoidian's body of work.

The Schmidt-Lademann House, in Floreat, is quite simply one of the best houses I have ever laid my eyes upon. Built in 1959, this is, as my architect associates would say "fuck off awesome". What can I tell you about? The elegant formalism, the modernist function, or the usonion simplicity and economy of locally sourced stone walls? Fuck it, I would rather just put it out there - this is Perth's best house. I haven't even seen the interior. I'm pretty sure if I did, I would simultaneously weep, quiver, and shit my pants. Perth's best house. Not to mention, it has held this title for over four decades. The Aldrich residence, currently under construction, will be the next contender for the title. More on this unbelievably complex project, another day.

Below the Schmidt-Lademannt pics, are photos of some other Iwanoff's not previously featured on 6000times. The brutal letterbox and wall detail were taken at the Feldman House, 1969, Dianella. Finally, the Frank House, also of 1969, Coolbinia wraps up a long overdue Iwanoff update. My thanks goes to the neighbour, who gave me a tour around the Frank property. The Frank House elevation is clearly not as impressive as Schmidt-Lademann, however, a quick walk around demonstrated the genius of Iwanoff.  Features such as central courtyard walled on three sides, and wooden louvres providing airflow built into many of the windows, quickly dispelled any doubts that this house is indeed special.

So, yep, back in Perth. There are a few things planned for this blog, all of which involve architecture, abandoned structures, art, and often, asians. A.A.A.A. Stay tuned, subscribe, bookmark. It's good to be back. Click Read More to see the photos. Enjoy.

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Bangkok, Thailand : Abandoned Skyscraper - Sathorn Unique Aint Worth Shit Yo

Abandoned skyscraper, Bangkok, Thailand. Fifty levels, of abandonded skyscraper. Wood flooring installed, bathroom suites connected, wiring, plumbing, fire safety systems, all done. Prime realestate on the river-bank downtown, with spectacular views. The "Sathorn Unique" was to be one of Bangkok's most exclusive residential developments. Like many other sites, constuction was abandoned during the asian financial crisis of the late 90's. As with food, Asian's do financial crisis's way better than us whiteys. How many skyscrapers were abandoned during the recent GFC? None. Think about it. Standing on a fifity level, almost completed skyscaper, some Thai guy says "fuck it man, lets just go eat some fried chicken. Yo! Kasit, Suthep, Sui Min...drop your helmets bitches! We're gettin' the fuck out of here! This building aint worth shit yo".

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Bangkok, Thailand : Abandoned Skyscraper Complex, Lieutenant Snake Plissken, Special Forces Unit

Bangkok, Thailand. Three towers, each almost forty stories high. One huge abandoned skyscraper development. Next door, another tower, another thirty or so levels of abandoned skyscraper. Down the street, another skyscraper appears to be, well, abandoned. No security present. Not even a fence. Just walk right in. There were roaming packs of wild dogs on levels 6, 7, and 8. Nothing a big stick couldn't take care of. This is Terminator and Escape from New York rolled into one. Pig, meet shit. 

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Perth : West Perth Abandoned Mechanics Workshop, Straight from Kuala Lumpur

More of Perth's abandoned buildings, this time in the shit-eating corporate wanker district of West Perth. Once an art-deco era mechanics workshop, the complex now lays abandoned. Much like a klang valley hooker, the interior space sports a great, if messy, interior makeover. Ironically, this post comes to you from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All the photos here are taken with an old-school film camera. The roll of film had a use-by-date of 1987, I shot the photos about 4 weeks ago, and the film was just processed here, today, in Kuala Lumpur. Whitey ratio, off the scale. Yellow fever, setting in nicely.

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Perth: William Street Revival - EPRA - Northbridge Link - Abandoned Perth

EPRA, congratulations, you get Northbridge. No franchises for William Street. Although my predictions about the Death of Northbridge by 2015 are looking a bit shakey, I stand by my 2025 prediction of a Terminator scenario, and my 2035 prediction, that being the year humans realise they have been living in the Matrix for at least the last thousand years. Yes, from now on, I will refer to EPRA as Duke, the King of Perth, A-Number-One. SAY IT! EPRA YOU'RE THE DUKE OF PERTH A-NUMBER ONE!

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Abandoned Junky Den of Death - Perth, 6000, Western Australia

Conveniently located right in the middle of the Perth 6000 postcode, lies another abandoned warehouse. Situated close to public transport, parks, and the Northbridge entertainment precinct, it features vaulted exposed-beam ceilings, and open plan design. Currently utilised as a training ground for drug abuse, homeless living, and of course, interior decoration, art, and design, internally it does look amazing. You can't buy interior decoration like this. This is patina. You can't buy patina. You can't fake patina. You know why? Because you can't buy time. Nobody can. For sale now, I'm fairly certain realestate.com.au won't be showing you photos like these. Please enjoy a photo tour of another of Perth City's abandoned buildings.

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Abandoned Stadium - Perry Lakes Stadium, Perth

Abandoned Stadium. Perry Lakes, Perth, Western Australia. Built 1962 for the Commonwealth Games. Abandoned, and very soon to be demolished. The entire stadium with all buildings may have disappeared by the time you read this, replaced with what seems to be a more suburban version of the redeveloped Subiaco. Wassup town planners? Its practically the future already! 20,000 residents with a gondola shuttle service? Its 2010 RIGHT NOW. DO YOU REALISE, IN BACK TO THE FUTURE II, the "FUTURE" WAS 2015! Think about that. Five years to go, and its the future...

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Restaurant Review : Good Fortune Roast Duck House, Northbridge. Plus, Abandoned Sail Factory Photo Tour

Good Fortune Roast Duck restaurant, William Street, Northbridge. An institution. However, during a recent visit, something terrible happened to me. I feel so dirty. So ashamed. So... so... white. I ordered the boneless roast duck with noodles, and an extra serving of choy sum. Its a great lunch time treat. Always delivered to the table quickly. This time,  something was wrong. Very wrong. Trinny and Susannah wrong. Although I am finding it difficult just remembering the experience, I have to write it down here, you know, to let it out, and move on with my life. Yes, I got the dreaded - Guilo Special. AKA the whitey deluxe. No duck sauce. No plum sauce. Am I really, just another Guilo?

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Old Swanbourne Hospital - Abandoned Mental Crazy People's Hospital : Photo Tour

Swanbourne Abandoned Hospital, 1904. Formerly, Claremont Mental Hospital. Since 1987, abandoned. This is an amazing collection of buildings, another vivid example of Perth's urban decay. Montgomery Hall is the most impressive structure of the group, a classically proportioned space, akin to the internal courtyard at the abandoned Treasury Building on St Georges Terrace. But this abandoned building, is hidden in the burbs. Heavy ceiling detailing is balanced perfectly with high windows on the east and west sides of the hall, natural light bathing the interior. After the Menora based abandoned Jewish Hospital (Oy Vey!) featured here, I was surprised to find Perth had another abandoned hospital. Read on, for a photo-tour of one of Perth's little known heritage gems.

Hey, can I just mention one thing? If you are interested in improving your skills with the camera, I should point out that I have a secret weapon. I talk all about it here. Cheers.

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Northbridge : Is Perth's Best Suburb Dead Already?

Say goodbye to Northbridge. Well, the Northbridge as you know it. If you think Northbridge is scary in 2010 (it isn't), fast forward to 2015, just five years from now. There are now plenty of new restaurants - The Sizzler has opened up in the disused DV8 nightclub, the Krispy Kreme Mega-plex is finally up and running. Wok-In-A-Box is in the same location that Billy Lee's Chinese Restaurant formerly occupied -  the increased rents in Chinatown forced a move out to the burbs (north of Walcott St). Finally, the Butcher Shop, one of the first William St tennants in the new revival of Perth's best street, called it a day. That spot is now Witchery for Men, right next door to Perth's first Baby Giordano...

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Whitey's Guide to Dim Sum (Yum Char) - Beginner to Pro in 3 Minutes

Dim Sum is absolutely the breakfast, brunch, or lunch of champions. In a world where Chinese food is now ubiquitous, strangely, a lot of people have not experienced Dim Sum. Reactions from the new players range from "its too slimy, I just don't like the texture" through to, "its too fried and crispy, I just don't like the texture". Uh huh. When you plunge in with a bit of knowledge, or tag along with a Dim Sum regular, the reaction is almost universally similar. A clear sense that you have just discovered a new meal that will stay with you, for life. So, read on, for the Whiteys Guide to Dim Sum - Beginner to Pro in Three Minutes.

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