Socmodernism. Architecture in Central Europe during the Cold War

The Book “Socmodernism. Architecture of Central Europe during the Cold War “is a fascinating and richly illustrated journey into the history of socialist modernism, which for decades remained underestimated and marginalized in the study of 20th-century architecture. The publication is not only an analysis of architectural phenomena, but also an attempt to reconstruct a fuller story of the post-war transformations of Central Europe.

The association of socialist modernism with industrialized and collectivized architecture has too often obscured the outstanding achievements of artists who developed their own unique aesthetic languages and engaged in dialogue with the rich heritage of previous eras. This book sheds light on architects who were confident in their vision, operating in a reality full of constraints in the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the Polish People’s Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and exploiting to their advantage the opportunities arising from the utopian spirit of those times.

The authors – Dr. Łukasz Galusek and Dr. Michał Wiśniewski – point out that the history of post-war Europe has for years been a narrative full of silences and absences – both in the political and cultural spheres. While these gaps in socio-political history have been slowly filled in the last 30 years, architecture remains an area full of omissions. This publication is a response to the need for a new perspective, restoring balance in the narrative of the modernist heritage of Central Europe.

This is a book that forces us to reflect on the contemporary reception and meaning of post-war architecture. It is also an appeal for a more nuanced look at the legacy of the Cold War era – full of contradictions, but also a wealth of artistic exploration.

The first comprehensive and panoramic account of the architecture of socialist modernity in Central Europe from the mid-1940s to the 1990s, from Tallinn to Ljubljana and from divided Berlin to Bucharest and Skopje.

The post-war part of the 20th century was a time of many modernities, including in architecture. In our part of Europe, when it was the “Eastern Bloc,” it took on a form that was at once unified, prefabricated, and cosmic. This impressive book recalls the best of each: creativity despite top-down standardization, attempts to give pragmatism a human dimension, and finally imagination—both that which could flourish in the prevailing system and that which operated despite it. It recalls iconic objects and projects, but also unrealized or no longer existing—signs of “another modernity,” sometimes seeming as if from another planet.

Olga Drenda