damn the free market works! it came up with commie blocks just based on space and energy efficiency! if only we could apply this on a larger scale 🙈
We do. It’s called an apartment building.
Idk why people insist on the false dichotomy between commieblock and other types of buildings. Sure there are some truly awful ones, especially in Eastern Europe that are basically high-rise slums. But most of the insanely expensive and luxurious housing is also high-rise residential.
London enters the chat
To achieve the Blade Runner / Judge Dredd aesthetic? That’s gonna be a pass from me.
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Not mutually exclusive. My pet conspiracy theory is that Soviet buildings were somewhat intentionally made to be awful, not so much to save on resources, but because the appearance of “suffering for the revolution” was desirable. Literally - we can’t let people have nice things, it uncommunist.
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I’m sure there were buildings with nice artwork on them. Ironically, communist countries had a well defined ruling class who could get nice things. It’s the average that counts. Also, slapping a small artwork on an otherwise ugly building is not really a solution.
My experience is mostly Romania, Hungary and ex-Yugoslavia. Those in Romania and Hungary are awful undecorated gray boxes, with substandard installations, paper-thin walls, and very depressing places to be in.
Yugoslavia is a different story, visibly not a part of the Soviet bloc. While there are some bad buildings, on average both quality and aesthetics, are much much better. Fairly nice places to live in
Aesthetic is part of life quality. If that is required to keep people housed, that society is a failure. Ideally, population continues to fall and none of that will be necessary.
Something similar in Fermont, Quebec, but it’s a wall of these buildings
This feels simultaneously ominous and beautiful
I read a book about a family living in those towers
It reminds me of this image of Norilsk by Elena Chernyshova:
“Nah, ya lissen- id’ain’ tha whol’ “minin’ life ain’t dat long, eh” or them few weeks erry summer when tha local browns take down our slow & infirm liken tha ol’ days. Nah. It’s them winters ya’gotta watch’oot fer der, friendo. Oooh-wee, an’ each wunza bigger begich den tha last, I tellya. Oh yah, dontcha’no.”
