Les Garçons Flamands
For the love of design!
Les Garçons Flamands button
by Mick
on March 29 2010
These series of images just took my breath away, this is what happens when you abandon a building and let it be for half a century. I have to say I love the beauty of decay. Thank god beautiful Detroit is crawling back. Tomorrow an interview on MICK! with movie makers Mascha and Manfred Popkenk, who made a marvelous documentary about Detroit.

These outstanding photo's, The ruins of Detroit, are made by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre

In there own words:
At the beginning of the 20th Century, the city of Detroit developed rapidly thanks to the automobile industry. Until the 50's, its population rose to almost 2 million people.Detroit was the 4th most important city in the United States. It was the dazzling symbol of the American Dream City with its monumental skyscrapers and fancy neighborhoods.
Increasing segregation and deindustrialization caused violent riots in 1967. The white middle-class exodus from the city accelerated and the suburbs grew. Firms and factories began to close or move to lower-wage states. Slowly, but inexorably downtown high-rise buildings emptied.
Since the 50's, "Motor City" lost more than half of its population.
Nowadays, its splendid decaying monuments are, no less than the Pyramids of Egypt, the Coliseum of Rome, or the Acropolis in Athens, remnants of the passing of a great civilization.

http://www.marchandmeffre.com/
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Ronald said, on 2010-03-29 at 10:50
Some fantastic art deco pieces in there. Amazing someone hasn't salvaged them!
Mevrouw+Mikmak said, on 2010-03-29 at 12:38
WOW, crazy locations, they take my breath away, what a beautiful mess.
Benjamin said, on 2010-03-29 at 12:55
It's shame these beautiful buildings are ruins, but these pictures are magnificent. And very photogenic for a apocalyptic film.
Detlev said, on 2010-03-30 at 15:13
0_o ..... Waaaaaaaaaauw ......
Dennis said, on 2010-03-31 at 13:11
Amazing, seems like the perfect setting for a Hollywood Blockbuster
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evj said, on 2010-03-31 at 21:14
Just awesome. Thank you so much for sharing.
Martin said, on 2010-04-03 at 12:10
Wow, these photo's are realy stunning. Especially the one of the large building. It's just beautifull.
Martin said, on 2010-04-03 at 12:10
Wow, these photo's are realy stunning. Especially the one of the large building. It's just beautifull.
Dennyboy said, on 2010-04-06 at 22:26
At once Magnificent and Malevolen. Looks like a project for "Extreme Makeover".
How beautiful they could be
if we all had the mon-ee!
Tjarko van der Pol said, on 2010-04-20 at 15:57
Dasha said, on 2010-04-23 at 18:12
the 8th picture is absolutely surrealistic!
à la Dalí, The Persistence of Memory