Pałace dla ludu? Między ideologią a kształtowaniem środowiska mieszkaniowego w Łodzi w latach 1949-1956 na przykładzie dzielnicy Bałuty

Abstract

Palaces for the People? Between ideology and the shaping of the residential environment in Łódź between 1949 and 1956 on the example of the Bałuty district

Despite political changes, transformations in the sphere of culture and architecture and the application of the doctrine of Socialist Realism, the housing estates that were built in the first post-war decade were rooted in modernist practices and, more broadly speaking, in concepts of modernization. Their program was largely consistent with the pre-war discourse of reconstruction and idea of social housing. Propaganda and ideological currents were also strongly intertwined with pragmatic, economic currents. Łódź had exceptional housing needs, since it was still struggling with the effects of rapid industrialization during the previous century. In the first post-war decade several housing complexes were built in the city, which did not solve the problem of mass housing, but exhibited features symptomatic of that period. This phenomenon is exemplified by the first and largest housing complex built in Łódź after the war, the Bałuty district. Its fragmentary implementation and its insertion into the existing urban fabric resulted in the creation of a specific hybrid form, which also indicated the non-monolithic nature of Socialist Realism and differing assumptions as regards (theoretically unified) residential architecture.