Archinect - News

Photographers rethink the Eastern Bloc

2019-08-12T13:30:00-04:00

All were built after World War II to cheaply house the masses in a way that jived with communist ideology. Near-identical two- and three-bedroom apartments included amenities like central heat, private bathrooms, and elevators. Standardization and mass production were paramount, though idiosyncrasies—a pop of color here, a geometric motif there—inevitably crept in.

David Navarro and Martyna Sobecka, the dynamic duo that make up the independent publisher/design studio Zupagrafika have trekked the Eastern Bloc in an effort to capture its hidden treasures. Their adventure has been published in a book called Eastern Blocks.

"Eastern Blocks is a photographic journey through the cityscapes of the former Eastern Bloc, inviting readers to explore the districts and peripheries that became a playground for mass housing development after WW2, including objects like houses ‘on chicken legs’, soviet ‘flying saucers’ or hammer-shaped tower blocks," reads the publisher's website.

Pull back the negative and discover the brutal charm of the European capitals’ suburbia!

2018-06-15T13:58:00-04:00

Poland-based Zupagrafika has long made their fascination with Brutalism known, selling a range of pop-out and build concrete modernist structures from cities around the world. Now, the design studio has launched a new photo project for Brutalist fans to enjoy, that allows buyers to "remove the negative and discover the brutal charm of European suburbia."

Described as interactive photo boxes, the four packets—focused on the cities of Warsaw, Berlin, Moscow and London—come with 8 interactive cards, resembling Polaroid 55 films. Users are expected to pull the negative apart, revealing images of post-war modernist estates.

“Modernist housing estates erected in the suburbs of European cities after the Second World War have been ignored and neglected for decades,” says Zupagrafika. "Although they are homes to the vast majority of urbanites, many would rather they were invisible." Through these photographs, shot by Zupagrafika along with photographers Alexander Veryovkin and Peter Chadwick...

Brutal paper cut-outs (of real-life buildings)

2016-05-26T19:22:00-04:00

Poland-based studio Zupagrafika has a thing for modernist and Brutalist architecture. And to share that passion, it has created playful illustrated paper cutout models of Brutalist buildings in London; modernist buildings in Warsaw; and a new series, Paris Brut, featuring Brutalist architecture from the 1950s–70s located in the city center and outlying banlieues.

Cheaper than a train set, more visceral than a video game: Zupagrafika's sets of the Les Choux de Creteil, the Cite des 4000, and the Orgues de Flandre (among others) will keep your fingers busy in assembly and your mind deeply engaged in the thorny issues surrounding the relative success and failure of mid-century design.

A round-up of all the latest in fascinating miniatures:

Brutal London cutout replicas commemorate iconic brutalist structures

2015-02-04T19:09:00-05:00

Assembling those paper cutouts from the back of the cereal box is a delightful childhood memory for many. Poznan-based design studio Zupagrafika brings back that pastime with their "Brutal London" paper cutouts that would look good on any shelf or desk. Following the Warsaw-inspired "Eastern Block" collection, Brutal London is Zupagrafika's latest addition to cataloging modernist architecture at risk of extinction -- be it demolition in England or thermomodernization in Poland.

The collection features five illustrated mini models of 1960s-1970s brutalist structures in the Camden, Southwark, and Tower Hamlet districts of London: the iconic Balfron Tower and Space House, the demolished Robin Hood Gardens and Aylesbury Estate, and the prefab Ledbury Estate. Made out of 100% recycled paper and cardboard, the models depict original details from the buildings' facades, down to the graffiti.

Young ones could perhaps learn a quick fact or two about brutalist architecture as they cut out a...