Questric

Euro cinema, Arnhem, the Netherlands, 1981, Environmental Design, P Mastbergen & LJ van der Stap

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

Surrealist office space in a preserved/adaptive reuse of a 1907 church - Oklahoma City, OK (early 1990s)

Designed by HTB, Inc.

Included the third image since it's an example of a surreal, mostly forgotten trend in postmodern spaces: adding mannequins/contemporary 'statues' as a part of the overall decor (outside of their more typical applications in store windows, modeling clothing in department stores, etc.); in this case construction workers perpetually 'repairing' the old church facade.

Selections from the book, Restaurant & Shop Facades (1994) by publisher Shotenkenchiku-Sha

CD compact disc Shop 'Tsutaya' - Neyagawa, Osaka - designed by Seishi Kondo

2. Gallery Hikosen - Kichijoji, Tokyo - designed by Jo Oda, Shinpei Owaki

3. Chinese restaurant 'China Blue' - Amagasaki, Hyogo - designed by Shin Takamatsu

4. Chinaware shop 'China China' - Aoyama, Tokyo - designed by Edward Suzuki

5. Café QUEST & Terre - Mito, Ibaraki - designed by Kazuhiro Nishino

6. Children's boutique 'Laforet Dear Kids' - Jingumae, Tokyo - designed by Null Haus Co., Ltd.

7. Disco 'Ronde Club' - Akasaka, Tokyo - designed by Sumio Yoshino

8. Restaurant 'La Table de Kiriko' - Sumiyoshi, Yokohama - designed by Setsuo Kitaoka

9. Disco 'Acropolis' - Tsubaki-cho, Nagoya - designed by Hiroshi Hiraki

Bowling center Noord, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1983

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

Czechoslovakian embassy, Berlin, Germany, 1978, V & V Machonin

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

BNP Parisbas bank, Merelbeke, Belgium

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

Bus station, Alkmaar, the Netherlands, 1982, demolished

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

Former General San Martín power plant, by José Molinari (1932).

It was shut down and abandoned in 1988. After years of neglect, restoration works began in 2002 on several sections of the complex, converting them into museum spaces, but many areas are still in a state of disrepair.

Ingeniero White - Bahía Blanca, Argentina.

© Roberto Conte (2026)

Former General San Martín power plant, by José Molinari (1932).

It was shut down and abandoned in 1988. After years of neglect, restoration works began in 2002 on several sections of the complex, converting them into museum spaces, but many areas are still in a state of disrepair.

Ingeniero White - Bahía Blanca, Argentina.

© Roberto Conte (2026)

Commodore Pet (Released 1977)

Apartment building, Brussels, Belgium, 1973, R Stapels, M Benoit & T de Vuyst

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

Yokogawa OL1540 oscilloscope, Data General/One, NEC 文豪 (Bungou) Mini7

(more pictures of the DG1 and Mini7 because i like them)

British Embassy, by Sir Basil Spence (1971).

Rome, Italy.

© Roberto Conte (2014

Right near to the place where Napoleon fought the Battle of Marengo in 1800 - deafeating the Austrians and expelling them from North-Western Italy - there is an old sugar mill, built in 1900 and abandoned in the 1980s.

There were plans to convert the buildings commercially, but the discovery of large amounts of heavy pollutants in the soil, caused by the nearby Solvay factory, and the resulting huge cleanup costs stopped everything.

These photos are from 2010, the sugar factory is still there. The bright blue on the wall of one photo is due to the asbestos removal works.

Spinetta Marengo, Italy.

© Roberto Conte (2010)

Deutsche Rentenversicherung office, Berlin, Germany, 1977, H Schaefers

Pictures by Klaas Vermaas

Robert Farber photography