La Torre de David: the vertical slum of Caracas - in pictures

The 45-storey office block was designed by the Venezuelan architect Enrique Gómez and was almost complete when it was abandoned in 1994 Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH

Torre David is home to a community of more than 300 families, living in the 'vertical slum' Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH

An improvised gym on top of the tower Photograph: Iwan Baan/WENN.com

Jorge Luis Cadena with his wife, Yecenia, and one of his three children Photograph: Leo Alvarez for the Guardian

Cadena works as a taxi driver to supplement his income Photograph: Leo Alvarez for the Guardian

Jorge Luis Cadena with his wife Yecenia Polanco. Flats in the skyscraper are highly coveted Photograph: Leo Alvarez for the Guardian

Inside the building – while the apartments are made homely by their inhabitants, the communal areas cannot hide their incomplete nature Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETHk

The abandoned building was a setting in the US series Homeland Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH

Steps inside the abandoned building - there are no lifts so Cadena and his family have to climb 26 floors every time they come home Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH

A family inside their apartment at La Torre Photograph: Angela Bonadies/Archivolatino/Redux/eyevine

The highrise was originally conceived as a bank by financier David Brillembourg, but he died in 1993 - just as the economy imploded Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH

Children play in the corridors at La Torre Photograph: Daniel Schwartz/U-TT & ETH