Interstitial Architecture in Providence

These folks furnished and lived in an apartment in an overlooked cinderblock space inside the Providence Mall--the nook was originally used in the construction of the building in the late '90s, abandoned, and obviously not very well guarded. They moved in a stove, couch, dishes, rugs, TV, playstation, but no toilet. Their squat lasted a few years. This reminds me of J.G. Ballard's book Concrete Island, about a man marooned in an overlooked urban pocket between freeways and his Robinson Crusoe-like existence there. An interesting YouTube linkable from the newspaper article shows how the Providence Mall was designed to provide pedestrian frontage only to the well-to-do neighborhoods but very little access from the "poor" areas. The apartment was on the "back" side of the mall. (hat tip to bloggy)