A little bit of Boston in the Soviet Bloc.

[JonFrum]

I seem to be restricted from uploading photos, so I'll post a link to this article/slideshow about architecture in post-war Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. You'll see a building that looks remarkably like a famous Boston landmark.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,777206,00.html

 

[datadyne007]

City Hall is much more attractive.

 

[statler]

Thanks for the post. Very interesting.

As an FYI, nobody has the ability to directly upload photos to the forums, images must be hosted elsewhere first, then they can be posted. You should have the ability to do this.

As a test, copy the following line, then press the

button and paste it into the box. Hit OK and then post and your image should show up:

http://i.imgur.com/FIhZg.jpg

 

[HenryAlan]

I know I'm in a minority, but I really like some of this stuff, including our own city hall. This building is really cool, in my opinion:

 

[datadyne007]

I know I'm in a minority, but I really like some of this stuff, including our own city hall. This building is really cool, in my opinion:

That image sparked my interest too. Interesting forms and massing, reminds me of Rudolph.

 

[Beton Brut]

Looks a bit like Paul Rudolph, and a bit like James Stirling.

Gehry isn't capable of these types of forms; he's a sculptor and a stylist, and only occasionally, an architect...

 

[datadyne007]

Looks a bit like Paul Rudolph, and a bit like James Stirling.

Gehry isn't capable of these types of forms; he's a sculptor and a stylist, and only occasionally, an architect...

Rudolph was actually the first thing that came to mind because of those round elements.

 

[Lurker]

Concrete in the USSR wasn't the best building material thanks to non-uniform quality control. There was a lot of new construction in the 1960s & 1970s where hitting a wall with anything of sufficient hardness would render a large chunk of concrete a puff of dust.

 

[EdFindlay]

Now I know where they got the design ideas for the condo complexes along Revere Beach...at least three of them are spitting images of the communist buildings!

 

[Beton Brut]

The commie-blocks on Revere Beach (circa 1987) could benefit from some curved elements. Those pictured above are far more imaginative.

 

[czsz]

Concrete in the USSR wasn't the best building material thanks to non-uniform quality control. There was a lot of new construction in the 1960s & 1970s where hitting a wall with anything of sufficient hardness would render a large chunk of concrete a puff of dust.

I can attest this is true in Poland as well. I was expecting all the communist-era portions of cities there to look like Government Center...instead they looked like Government Center built out of cardboard!

East Germany, which was arguably the most technically advanced Eastern Bloc country, had it a little better - though not by much.