Balcony Art
People often ask me: ‘Why are Soviet apartments so ugly?’
These of course are ignorant people with no finer sensibilities. Soviet apartments are rich in free forms of artistic expression which defy conventional aesthetics. It is only to the untutored eye that they appear as hideous blots on a mud blown landscape.
A little insight: Soviet architects, in their wisdom, designed all Russian apartments with open, mediterranean-style balconies. It is therefore left to each tenant to find some way of filling in these gaping holes - either as protection against the Russian winter, or as fortification for Russian society’s special security needs. Or simply to blot out any view of the adjacent, mud blown landscape.
Balcony infill is not taught at any Russian technical school. Neither are there any known materials which bond easily with Soviet drill-resistant iron and concrete. Every unsuccessful attempt is therefore a triumph of individual creativity.
In Soviet times, balcony infill provided a harmless outlet for the unwanted ‘cult of the individual’, consuming time and energy which might otherwise have been directed against the State. Note that old Russian houses do not have mediterranean-style balconies and perhaps this simple omission played a small part in the Tsar’s downfall.
Non-concrete housing in Novgorod
[...] copydude [...]
Dear me, I think you missed out a whole section on the creative use of the Soviet balcony, which would exceed that of the Greek balcony if it weren’t for the climate.
For myself, I miss the extra fridge space in winter, especially around Christmas and New Year. One year after the thaw, I found an extra bottle of Soviet fizz which had frozen and exploded.
And then there is the storage of all those large bottles of pickles etc that people store when they have really closed in their balconies. Not to mention also bikes, step ladders, tools etc. and somewhere to dry the washing.
Having only a patio in England, I am seriously disadvantaged for storage space.
And its not just Soviet apartments that are ugly. Try Birmingham, which also has a lot of creativity in filling in balconies.
[...] Copydude writes and posts pictures of the Russian balconies: “Balcony infill is not taught at any Russian technical school. Neither are there any known materials which bond easily with Soviet drill-resistant iron and concrete. Every unsuccessful attempt is therefore a triumph of individual creativity.” [...]
great article! thanks for the info!
First of all, allow my family value a person’s command during this matter. Even though this is certainly brand new , nevertheless soon after registering your site, this intellect has exploded extensively. Allow all of us to take hold of one’s rss to help keep in touch with at all probable messages Sincere understand but will pass it on to help admirers and my individual are living members