Socialist architecture - examples

[tanosmile]

Everybody hates socialist architecture, but i'm asking if does exist some example that we can say "thanks" to socialism in the est europe

[Kampflamm]

Just after WW2 the GDR built their "workers' palaces" in a Stalinist style. Pretty high quality and much better than the stuff that was built in West Germany. Sadly they ran out of money and had to build cheaper Commieblocks.

Magdeburg:





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Rostock:

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East Berlin:

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[tanosmile]

i evere been in Berlin 1 year ago, and i had seen this example in berlin, but i dont like it, dont'u think it's too much big?? it's long something like 300meters...

[Elvenking]

Originally Posted by tanosmile

Everybody hates socialist architecture, but i'm asking if does exist some example that we can say "thanks" to socialism in the est europe

Not everybody hates it. In fact it's not THAT bad... Has its charm in a way, but of course not always.

You could be more precise what you mean in this thread? Everything that was build between 1922 and 1990 in USSR and 1945-1989 in other eastern block countries? Or some specific style? Socrealism, Modernism, some examples of international style?

Poland: Example of 50s architecture - Palace of culture and science



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House of communist party



Modernism - Central Railway Station, Warsaw





Central railway station and Intraco-II building (1975-1979) behind


Eastern Wall complex:











As you can see there's much difference in styles. Not always architecture of socialist countries was so much worse than the western one of that time.

[Iluminat]

Originally Posted by tanosmile

Everybody hates socialist architecture, but i'm asking if does exist some example that we can say "thanks" to socialism in the est europe

It would be a long list if you asked me altough I'm not sure what you mean by "socialist" architecture since excluding socrealist period 1934(or '45 for WP) - 1956 it was more or less the same architecture you could see pretty much anywhere in the world at that time: late modernism, brutalism, constructivism, even postmodernism etc.

[WhiteMagick]

Commie blocks are ugly but government buildings built by socialists are usually quite nice.

[erbse]

Guys, consider we're at the Classic Architecture forum. So he's asking for Stalinist buildings, of course.

Originally Posted by Kampflamm

Just after WW2 the GDR built their "workers' palaces" in a Stalinist style. Pretty high quality and much better than the stuff that was built in West Germany. Sadly they ran out of money and had to build cheaper Commieblocks.

Sure, but it's mainly due to the dead of Stalin though. After that, there were no such buildings planned anymore, nowhere behind the iron curtain. It was a 'dictated' style in some way. Most architects already had massive modern buildings and urban remodeling in mind. Before Stalin's time, there were loads of utopia modernist buildings planned for the Soviet areas.

Anyway, I'm really fond of this style. It had some kind of revival in the late 80s in a socialist sort of postmodernism. I'll show some examples later on.

There are great examples of Stalinism even in my rather small hometown of Neubrandenburg.

[Kampflamm]

Sure, Stalin's death had something to do with it but the lack of funds played a role as well. They simply were in no position to add (unnecessary) details to the facades etc anymore.

Some nice buildings from Dresden:

[tanosmile]

ok i mistake ... i mean that a lot of architecture in the easthern block, was commieblocks, and completely different reconstruction of historic centre in the damaged cities (and not damage). Yes, not everybody hate socialist architecture, and not all of it is ugly, but the most part of people, specially for the reasons that i have just explained

[Darhet]

Warsaw
Fifties years
Socialist realism
Plac Konstytucji (Constitution Square)






Muranów:

[tanosmile]

Originally Posted by Kampflamm

Sure, Stalin's death had something to do with it but the lack of funds played a role as well. They simply were in no position to add (unnecessary) details to the facades etc anymore.

Some nice buildings from Dresden:

yes thise are good exemples, but i prefer this square before the war

before


now
image hosted on flickr

[Iluminat]

Originally Posted by Kampflamm

Sure, Stalin's death had something to do with it but the lack of funds played a role as well. They simply were in no position to add (unnecessary) details to the facades etc anymore.

Socrealism was forced on architects, most of them were modernists and they tried to make their buildings as modersnist as possible.
It was a form of protest:





socmodernism from the '50

and one of the last examples of modernism built under Stalin's shadow



Money had little to do with it,
not all socrealist buildings were so "representative" like the ones in Magdeburg.
In fact this late modernist structures required new materials and technology that often had to be obtained from the west,
for dollars so it wasn't really that cheap...

[Mruczek]

Actually, only this:

Originally Posted by Iluminat

"Okraglak" ("Round House") from Poznan (arch. Marek Leykam, 1955) was a form of protest, indeed.

The rest of buildings you've posted (Praga I Housing Estate, Warsaw, arch. Helena & Szymon Syrkus, 1948-52 and "Smyk" Department Store, Warsaw, arch. Zbigniew Ihnatowicz & Jerzy Romański, 1948-51) had been commissioned in 1948, BEFORE the so called "socialist' realism" (or stalinism, if you like) was enforced in Poland. From 1945 to 1948, despite of the communism, architects in Poland used mostly Corbusier's international style or continued trends from before 1939.

And the same situation was in all Eastern Bloc, I suppose. Probably in East Germany (or: Soviet Occupation Zone). And certainly in Hungary. And certainly in Czechoslovakia (oficially, there even hadn't been communism before 1948!).

Only in Baltic States it might have been different.

Some examples of stalinist style in Warsaw:

MDM part III, better known as Osiedle "Latawiec" ("Kite" Housing Estate, name taken from the shape of the estate in the map), arch. Eleonora Sekrecka, 1953-55



Praga II Housing Estate, arch. Jerzy Gieysztor & Jerzy Kumelowski, 1949-55.





(on the right side) Ochota I Housing Estate, arch. Jozefa Malinowska & Julian Nehrebecki, 1951-59



Plac Henkla (Henkel Square), arch. Jacek Nowicki & Boguslaw Karczewski, 1951-56

[tb808]

Socrealism in Zielona Góra, Lubuskie, Poland.


http://www.panoramio.com/photo/37074176

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/13424087

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/12020184
Former PZPR (Polish United Workers' Party) settlement. Build in 1955.
=============================================

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11956565

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/30637345

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/42096179
Bohaterów Westerplatte street.
=============================================

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17236281

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/37626041
Chrobrego street.
=============================================

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/37626009

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/27473836

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/30969488

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/15965305

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/14940624
Mieszka I street.
=============================================

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/14775129

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11892346
Krzywoustego street.
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http://www.panoramio.com/photo/26124392
Partyzantów street.
=============================================

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/26066418
Police dept.

[CloserToTheSky]

Socialist architecture is extremely awful.

[wolfpaw]

Originally Posted by tanosmile

yes thise are good exemples, but i prefer this square before the war

So do I. I don't know why people seem to like the post-war Altmarkt so much. OK, it could've been a lot worse but compared with what was there before 1945, I think it's horrible

[wolfpaw]

Originally Posted by Iluminat

and one of the last examples of modernism built under Stalin's shadow

Good god, that's disgusting.

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[tanosmile]

Originally Posted by wolfpaw

So do I. I don't know why people seem to like the post-war Altmarkt so much. OK, it could've been a lot worse but compared with what was there before 1945, I think it's horrible

[Iluminat]

Originally Posted by wolfpaw

Good god, that's disgusting.

Why
Unfortunatelly it was recladed after fire in the '70 and the windows were simplified



There were plans to recrate the original look but I didn't hear about it in a long time...