MASS HOUSING IN UKRAINE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

The housing issue is rightly considered one of the most acute problems of humankind. It is generated by social causes and has a social meaning. The housing issue cannot be solved with purely technical, architectural or artistic approaches. Rather, it also depends significantly on economic, political and environmental circumstances. At different times, the nature of the living environment was formed under the influence of social order, the level of development of productive forces, household and economic systems, and other factors. In the second half of the 20th century, following standard designs, Ukrainian cities mostly consisted of four- and five-story residential buildings in new residential areas. As a result, the living environment of many cities in the country acquired a common and rather modest appearance, dominated by concrete construction. At that time, this was the most effective way of mass housing construction. New technologies and design solutions were used. Such housing was cheap and purposefully met the social standards at the time. In addition, for the owners of such housing, it meant a new higher level of comfort. This publication focusses on housing construction in the second half of the 20th century in Ukraine after 1956. It is important to identify the quality of such housing and its compliance with modern requirements. Methods of systematization of historiographical materials, comparative and historical analysis, and field surveys were used to achieve the aim. Among the main achievements are the comfortable density of residential areas and fast construction times. The disadvantages of this period’s mass housing construction are related to missing maintenance, ongoing destruction, often complex ownership situations and the challenge to adapt each building to current needs and regulations.