“The architectural world is oversaturated with buzz terms like building a community or promoting social interaction, but nowhere has it been taken so literally as in the Soviet Union. After the revolution and adoption of socialist form of governance they had the task of developing a new typology for a new type of society with a completely new set of ideals. Now a space for gathering was needed. Soviet Constructivists described it as a social condenser - a structure that would help its residents to embody the socialist ideals, shedding the old hierarchies and promoting personal development. However, investigating Soviet-era housing in Post-Soviet states, more specifically microrayons, it seems like they are more for passing through than lingering. So what happened to the idea of socially equitable spaces?
Were ideological errors or execution at fault?”

In this article for Dichotomy issue 27: Gather I explore microrayons as places for gathering while comparing them to Ginzburg’s social condensers.