Pre-fabs experience a revival

The Plattenbauten (pre-fab concrete residential blocks) built by the communists, often written off as relicts of the socialist era, are experiencing a renaissance in the Czech Republic, Karolína Vitvarová-Vránková reports. "In the early 1990s it was predicted that the estates made up of pre-fab buildings would become even more impoverished and dreary than during socialist times, but this has not been the case. On the contrary, the pre-fab buildings have been more or less well-renovated and in some places even turned into respectable and pleasant residential units. ... The concept of 'consolidation' of these housing estates by adding more buildings is aimed at preventing social decline in these districts. ... In short: the local housing estates have been lucky. Despite their undeniable ugliness and architectural poverty, and in spite of their grey tones and impersonal atmosphere, they were never reduced to ghettoes for the underclass."

» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Czech Republic