Wednesday, September 30, 2009

White corner view

Prague is pretty colorful for this theme. But wait, we have paneláky! They are all around Prague, they are like a ring that resembles medieval walls if I want to be poetic. Some hate them, some love them as it happens with the aesthetics of Brutalism. Sign of the former Eastern block. But it is all to blame to Corbisier, whom I like a lot.

Necessary to say, that people liked them during the late 60s, 70s, even still in 80s and early 90s when they were massively built all around this country. They all had hot running water, central heating, large windows and good lighting, balconies, an own bathroom and bathtub; Art Noveau palaces in the centre, not mentioning Baroque and older palaces, those that cost millions today, never had all of that at once. They were also a perfect anonymous space for those who liked to enjoy the crowd.

These pictures were taken by Luděk.

22 comments:

likeschocolate said...

I personally think these types of apartment complexes are ugly, but now thinking about what they offered the people it seems better in some way.

la ninja said...

comfort vs beauty... tough 'un.

thanks for the explanation. where I come from we have lots and lots of them too. in fact, every big city has them for a variety of reasons and they are always controversial, don't you think.

Kari said...

interesting buildings.
thanks for the insight.

liza said...

I like hearing the history. Thank you! Also a fan of corbusier, but not so much the housing projects! Modern amenities, though, are appealing!

Traveling Mama said...

What a lovely view! It's fun hearing your perspective!

victoria said...

I think most major cities have those kind of apartment blocks. Here we are lucky enough to have very little of them. Interesting whiteness :)

;) said...

I never saw "this" Prague (and this white;)) !!! Thanks for the discovery !

Bonnie said...

interesting !
thanks for sharing ...

Ritva said...

white i beauty to me- it has all the colours in it.
i know praque is beautiful- one of the most!
and i really don´t like these buildings.
so you mixed me up! :)
but that´s how we live. all mixed up.

a very important post!
hugs!

ps. that what you said about my whiteness in my blog,- you really touch me deeply, thank you!

Ritva said...

oooups...white IS beauty to me...

et lille oejeblik - a little moment said...

i like corbusier too, and i like that you take the time to explain. there was a lot of buildings like that in denmark in the 50s, 60s and even in 70s. and they were build with good intentions, bringing comfort to people. but history proved that people need more than comfort, and i think the idea failed because it didn't leave much space for people to leave their mark.

great post!

Unknown said...

Yes, Trinsch, lets not mix it up with the 50s 60s architecture of housing estates in the West. Hansaviertel in Berlin is my favourite. I would live there right away. It has nice atmosphere and the houses are beautiful!
Eastern housing estates are like an infusion of the original idea.

Joyce said...

I had no idea about the building and found the information very interesting. Thanks for sharing. xoxo

Palmer and Co said...

Thanks for the history... I love it! My daughter, Luxe, thinks it would be 'so cool' to live in a building! Kids...

Happy Day!

Jodi said...

I love to learn and see the beauty in new things. thanks for the insight and the great sky shots too.

Francesca said...

Those modern city walls are an eyesore around all cities. They are a solution to urban housing problems but, even when they are aesthetically nicer, they usually don't offer spaces for community sense and bonds to develop, and that's partly why they quite often become dreadful "slums".

Juliette said...

i've never been a fan myself, but you're right in what they offered at the time. interesting white!

jane said...

thanks for this! always love you commentary! besos!

lucylaine said...

beautiful corner view!!

Unknown said...

They seem ugly, but as you say they have light, central heating and other things that sometimes are more important than the moment beauty. What today is beauty tomorrow can be ugly. But confort is more difficult to change.

juditsd said...

I'm from Hungary - we have the same ugly buildings around cities... but it's part of our history:)

Jeannette said...

You can see the same here in Potsdam. I live in the old historic part of it but there are a lot of the Eastern block buildings around the city. And some still prefer to live in them instead of the old houses with no central heating and bad lighting. I can´t blame them but I´m glad that I live in a house with a ´soul´.
Thank you for a different take on white. Loved it!