We all know the extent to which Soviet architecture can be brutalist. Concrete monoliyths with exposed cement exterior, commie blocks, and what not. This building in Russia is up there nominated as the most SOVIET BUILDING OF ALL TIME.
Bublik Circular Building. There's actually two of them. Would you live in one of them? Join me as I travel to Moscow and go for a tour of the most insane pieces of architecture that are considered to be part of the brutalism trend.
From Wikipedia: the Round Houses in Moscow are nine-floors residential buildings built circularly, in Western Moscow in 1970, according to a project by architect Yevgeny Stamo and engineer Aleksandr Markelov.
They were built in a very different design from the regular “panel block” houses of that era, and in this video you can DEFINITELY SEE WHY! The diameter of the structure is 155 meters, with 26 entrances, 913 apartments and six big archways to enter the courtyard. The first floor of the building has pharmacies, shops, hair salons, a laundry and tailor shop, also a childrens’ club, and even a library. You can see them in the video! The isolated courtyard has its own park, with playgrounds for kids and feels like it is a long way away from the busy town. The rooms here are not rectangular but more like trapezoids, which makes it harder to place furniture.
This place is just mindboggling. The closest metro stop is Minskaya, which denotes actually a pretty well-off area of Moscow, where wealthy people are known to live. It is not a bad area by any means. Many embassy buildings are also located not far from Bublik.
Tell me the truth and be honest: would you like to live in a place like this? It definitely looks like one of those buildings that popular travel vlog personalities such as BALD AND BANKRUPT or HARALD BALDR would love to see. It's not far from central Moscow: so keep in mind next time you'd like to visit Russia! It's quite the unusual tourist attraction, but if you're interested...well, you know where to find it. Bublik Circular House.
Also, fun fact: "bublik" in Russian means donut! It is not its official name, but rather a nickname.
Continuing from Wikipedia: two architetst Stamo and Markelov wanted to design their own housing project to diversify a bit from the dull typical Soviet planned architecture. DID THEY SUCCEED IN THEIR PLANS? Ahah, let me know in the comments.
Weirdly enough, the main communist architectural authority and the Moscow Mosproject-1 institute let them step out from the standard solutions and make a round building. GREAT IDEA! In 1972, the construction of the first huge accommodation building was completed. It made a big impression on the people of Moscow and of all the USSR, and for a long time there was an urban legend that the houses were built for the Moscow Olympics and that a whole block of such buildings was designed in the shape of the Olympic rings.
The costs increased due to the need for constant monitoring of a single project, in addition, such houses required monolithic additions, which increased the cost of the construction and the duration of its construction. The real idea of the project was to try to restore the "old Soviet residential yard", to add attractiveness to the typical built-up areas and to provide the residents the necessary infrastructures within walking distance. Thus, the first floor of the building was reserved for facilities such as shops, pharmacies and a library.
The building in Nzhinskaya Street contains 913 apartments on 26 entrances. The other on Dovzhenko Street is a similar copy and only the number of apartments is different - 926. Due to its location near the Mosfilm Studios, the Houses has often appeared in Soviet films.
After a few years, the disadvantages of this form of building became apparent: a strong wind was constantly blowing inside the yard, there were very loud voices and a significant portion of the apartments did not meet the required insulation standards. Repairs in the apartments are difficult to make due to the trapezoidal shape of the rooms and often residents and guests have difficulty finding the right entrances.
As a result, after the construction of the house on Dovzhenko Street was completed, no such buildings were built.
Former Moscow Chief Architect Mikhail Posokhin praised Yevgeny Stamo's contribution to the urban landscape and posed him alongside with architects such as Vasily Bazhanov and Alexei Shchosev who also contributed to Moscow's urban landscape.
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4 сен 2024
