Remnants of the Socialist era, the large-scale architecture and urban spaces of the Eastern European Bloc still constitute a challenging legacy, at odds with contemporary urban environments and the values shaping cities today. This ideologically charged architecture is being reclaimed either through the reconciliation of the public opinion with this part of history, adaptive re-use, renovation, or through its re-contextualization as architectural heritage. By (re)introducing the human scale within these monumental architecture projects and public spaces, these entities are being restored to the urban and cultural life of cities.
_Gent_Onuzi.jpg?1603920105 "The Pyramid in Tirana. Image © Gent Onuzi")
Re-appropriating the Architecture
_Gent_Onuzi.jpg?1603920105)
The persistence of many of the Socialist-era architectural projects and urban interventions is the result of several factors, such as the divided public opinion around the course of action regarding these elements and the cost of intervention, be it removal or adaptation. Initiatives to reshape Soviet urban spaces are quite rare. Even fewer projects aim to refurbish or re-use the colossal architectural monuments. The scale of these interventions often discourages any attempt of re-appropriation, as restructuring such spaces requires a highly coordinated vision and a vast economic effort.
_MVRDV.jpg?1603920053)
The lack of care for this architecture is, to a point, understandable. Some of these buildings, once meant to express the ethos of the socio-political ideology, have lost their significance for the local community, or they no longer serve a useful function. Just like many examples of Soviet architecture, the Pyramid in Tirana has also been the subject of demolition plans, but since the idea of tearing down the building found no public support, the municipality engaged MVRDV to refurbish the now abandoned and decaying facility. The plan involves the transformation of the structure into a multifunctional technology and education center for Tirana's youth. Although the project has been discussed for years now, the permit for the refurbishment has only been granted this year, showcasing another struggle in the path toward the revitalization of this architecture, that is the slow bureaucratic processes of these younger democracies.
In Bulgaria, attitudes towards Communist monuments are shifting, and the neglect towards these structures seems to have taken a U-turn. Buzludzha Monument, a famous example of Socialist architecture used as a museum and event space before the fall of the Communist regime, remained abandoned afterward. In 2015, the Buzludzha Project was created to campaign for the preservation of the monument and the development of a comprehensive strategy for the re-use of the building as education, arts, and tourist venue. Furthermore, in 2019, the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles came to the monument's aid with a $185,000 grant for the creation of the preservation plan.
However, not all communist buildings are created equal, and public opinion forms highly complex relationships with these remnants of this controversial part of history. Once the built image of the communist power, the Television Tower in Berlin has undergone a radical symbolic transformation after 1989, becoming a landmark for the reunified city. Although there were calls for its demolition in the early years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, public opinion has generally embraced the structure, the engineering behind it, and its futuristic architecture. In this case, the reframing of the monumental structure didn't involve an architectural intervention, but a shift in the structure's symbolic identity. However, not the same happened with the Palace of the Republic, the former headquarters of the GDR parliament, demolished in 2008 to make room for the reconstruction of the Prussian Berlin Palace, whose remains were demolished under Communist rule.
Re-shaping Public Spaces
For these authoritarian regimes, the shaping of urban space was a fundamental part of the political project, and in many cases, the new democratic identity couldn't infuse into these spaces the new form of society and its values. Wide boulevards, vast urban voids, impressive when seen from above but in utter disconnection to the human scale, with long distances and lack of activities for pedestrians, are common criteria for public spaces in socialist urban environments. As these places had mainly an aesthetic and symbolic function, there was no preoccupation with creating opportunities for social engagement. Recently, some cities have focused their efforts on enabling a vibrant urban life within these urban fragments.
When it comes to reshaping public space in former socialist contexts, one of the most successful stories of recent years has to be Tirana's Skanderberg Square. The surface of the reorganized plaza is now an ample and flat pyramid that places citizens at par with the surrounding buildings, thus counteracting the oppressive monumentality of the communist architectural context. Brussels-based architecture firm 51N4E transformed Tirana's main public space into a large pedestrian area accompanied by water and gardens, creating a framework for a dynamic urban life.
In many cases, the grandiose urban plans of totalitarian regimes never came to fruition, leaving behind disjointed and incoherent pieces of the urban fabric. The Azatlyk Central Square of Naberezhnye Chelny in Russia was initially designed around a formal axis meant to connect the municipality building to the Lenin museum. The latter was never built, and the square remained a monotonous urban void, disconnected from the urban life. DROM Architecture Office reimagined the square, creating a dynamic, plural, and inclusive public space. Through the reprogramming of the area around multiple core functions and relocation of the former central axis, the square has been reshaped to accommodate a more humane scale, stripping away its formal ideological subtext.
After more than thirty years, there is still a long way to go in developing successful strategies for the adaptive re-use and restructuring of the Socialist-era architecture and public spaces, in order for these elements to start expressing the social and sustainable ethos of contemporary urban environments. Examples are few and far between, but hopefully, they will succeed in inspiring further change.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topic: Human Scale. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and projects. Learn more about our monthly topics here. As always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.
_MVRDV.jpg?1603920065 "Reframing the Monumental: Reclaiming the Architecture and Public Spaces of the Former Eastern European Bloc")
_MVRDV.jpg?1603920053 "Reframing the Monumental: Reclaiming the Architecture and Public Spaces of the Former Eastern European Bloc")
