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The tower block as a recurring theme in post-Soviet photography

2018-05-04T15:24:00-04:00

In some places, the tower block has never faded from view. The history of mass housing in eastern Europe is complex and uncomfortable. Yet what’s striking is how prominently the tower block features in the work of contemporary photographers from that territory. These artists have every reason to turn their backs on such buildings. They’re ugly and overbearing, not to say reminiscent of an authoritarian past. But the mass housing block is a recurring presence in their work.

Writer and critic Ekow Eshun provides a beautiful overview of the tower block as a recurring architectural, social, and aesthetic theme in the works of post-Soviet-era photographers in Russia, Serbia, the Baltic states, and throughout Eastern Europe.

"However ugly and monolithic such buildings were after all, they provided homes for people and are worth time and scrutiny as sites of possibility and connection," Ekow writes. "They were places where people gathered to sleep and eat, to argue and to raise families. And they continue to be so. Perhaps this is a modest artistic aim. But it’s also a worthwhile one."

34 buildings in London evacuated after failing fire tests in light of Grenfell Tower tragedy

2017-06-26T13:29:00-04:00

Britain said 34 high-rise apartment blocks had failed fire safety checks carried out after the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze, including several in north London where residents were forced to evacuate amid chaotic scenes.

Two weeks ago, a low-income residential tower in London tragically caught fire resulting in the death of at least 79 occupants. The incident has sparked a national (and even international) conversation about the safety standards set by London officials for low-income residents as it has been discovered that certain precautions like sprinkler systems were deemed unnecessary in the interest of cutting costs. In addition, a cladding on the exterior of the building has been largely determined as the reason the fire lead to such deadly results. The same material is said to clad tens of thousands of buildings in more than 87 tower blocks across the United Kingdom.

In an attempt to avoid similar failures in the future, British officials have inspected over 600 high-rise buildings across England. From this, the Department for Communities has concluded that 34 apartment blocks across the country fail to meet safety standards. The aluminum cladding that covered Grenfell has begun to be remove...

Grenfell Tower Fire: Up to 30K Other Buildings Clad in the Same Material Likely Responsible for the Fire

2017-06-19T12:23:00-04:00

There are tens of thousands of buildings in more than 87 tower blocks across the United Kingdom clad in the same aluminum composite that experts claim was largely responsible for the severity of the blaze that erupted on Grenfell Tower in Kensington and claimed at least 79 lives. The material, which is banned in the United States and elsewhere, is intended to improve the aesthetics of the towers, in part to raise nearby property values.

In the case of Grenfell Tower, by just spending £5,000 more on the £8.6 million refurbishment, a fire resistant cladding could have been used and saved these lives. This is not new information. Back in 2000, an inquiry said all cladding systems should use non-combustible materials, following a blaze in Scotland responsible for the death of an elderly man. In addition to the cladding, a lack a sprinkler systems has been blamed for the fire. Just one of eight councils has said it put sprinklers into their flats—18 out of 2,925.

Experts, such as archit...