How Germany Gave Old Five-Story Buildings a New Life
After the war, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and many Western countries faced the same task: providing rapidly growing urban populations with large numbers of affordable apartments.
How Germany Successfully Renovated Old Socialist Apartment Buildings and Made Them Modern
After World War II, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and many Western countries faced the same challenge: providing large numbers of affordable apartments for growing urban populations.
Many prefabricated apartment buildings were constructed then, and many people still live in them. Such panel buildings were built in East Germany (the former GDR), while in countries of the former Soviet Union similar buildings have become outdated and are often slated for demolition.
THE GERMANS DECIDED NOT TO DEMOLISH FIVE-STORY BUILDINGS BUT TO RENOVATE THEM COMPLETELY, CONSIDERING THIS MORE ECONOMICAL.
The main change was removal of the connecting section. This allowed architects to divide one long building into 2 or more separate structures.
The apartments were then insulated to meet legal requirements, and the buildings were repainted from gray to lighter shades of beige, brown, green, and purple…
In many cases, five-story buildings were reduced to three stories during renovation, creating larger apartments.
The builders did more than repaint. They added new balconies, loggias, and external elevators. Underground parking might be useful, but there was already ample space for cars.
The builders also considered resident safety, creating a buffer area with a low brick wall separating entrances from the roadway.
Trash containers received special attention. They were enclosed in lockable cages, so residents could be sure that outsiders would not dispose of waste in them.
- German residential courtyards also differ from ours
- paths are paved with stone, and lawns and well-kept plants are commonplace.
- Source
- svestnik.kz