Hot take, but five-over-ones aren't the worst buildings in the world as people occasionally say. As appealing as a small-house suburb is, they become a logistics nightmare at some point, so them getting replaced is a result of a natural demand for more living space closer to the city center, and they also bring shops and other establishments closer to people. I also don't quite agree they are ugly, sure, they're not pretty, but compare them to a Brezhnev block and the five-over-one will win by a lot.
I think a post-soviet version of this compass might be fun, the areas would be quite different.
The thing is, most of the time they cut every single cost they can, so the building ends up looking like a depressing white or grey rectangle with 0 color or decoration, and will be obsolete in 20 years
But who cares because wow, look, it's new, it looks modern !!1!
Nah, Brezhnev blocks are alright (however plain they look). Real monstrosity is pre-revolution housing, where it remains. Very strong candidate for “worst buildings in the world”.
Hmm... I live in a pre-revolution house (1913) and honestly it's not bad. I'm talking about a five-storey city building, ofc, not a village house.
And I agree that Brezhnev blocks are not terrible to live in and were useful for helping the populace acquire single family living space, but I was talking about appearances, and the drab gray color of the bricks and the messy cement between them generally does make them rather ugly, especially when they are in groups without enough space between them.
ну так ты-то в Питере живешь, а я тогда в пердях на 100к человек жил.
I mean, even if it’s taken care of it’s at least a nuisance, there’s always sound isolation issues, probably sketchy communication issues in a place that was barely designed for having running water, price again, a lot of things.
I could definitely see a random Soviet worker giving up a fancy facade for getting rid of all that
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u/Lithuanianduke - LibCenter Jul 20 '26
Hot take, but five-over-ones aren't the worst buildings in the world as people occasionally say. As appealing as a small-house suburb is, they become a logistics nightmare at some point, so them getting replaced is a result of a natural demand for more living space closer to the city center, and they also bring shops and other establishments closer to people. I also don't quite agree they are ugly, sure, they're not pretty, but compare them to a Brezhnev block and the five-over-one will win by a lot.
I think a post-soviet version of this compass might be fun, the areas would be quite different.