Housing Slodowiec

@. Slodowiec 3

architect. ??

finished. probably 60's

Housing under socialism was a right. The government would give you an apartment, eventually. It just had to be built, and the people inline in front of you had to get theirs first. Babies were put on a list at birth to have an apartment when they turned 21. It was not a perfect system.

 

But that is why socialist housing is ubiquitous in Warsaw. No matter what direction you're traveling in you'll come across graying apartment buildings very quickly. Warsovienes hate them. They are 'ugly' and gray and usually poorly taken care of. They were made using cheap materials and have outdated infrastructure. The apartments are small - a bare minimum, to fit as much of the ever-expanding city population as possible.

And even though the apartmetns themselves frequently have low ceilings and small kitchens they are extremely efficient. No square centimeter is wasted. They are well designed well to satisfy the minimum. However it is the relationship between the buildings that is truly worth experiencing. The government owned the land that was being built. They wanted efficiency but they were not constrained by plot size. This means that the buildings are well proportioned with respect to each other and the open space around them (of which there is always plenty, the same cannot be said for parking). Definitely worth a visit. And if you can get inside and are lucky enough to have been in a low-income housing studio in Architecture school you'll definitely smile. Ah those stairs...