The Public Housing Boom: How Architecture Changed the World
A Story Unfolding Across Timelines.
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In this series, I am sharing my conversations with my father and inviting you to be part of them. This new installment will focus on the pre-state period and the early days of Israel when the country faced the challenge of housing almost a million immigrants who arrived with nothing but the clothes they wore.
In this installment, we'll focus on the development of large-scale residential projects. We will look at how they were built, what made them possible, and how they shaped the lives of the people who lived in them.
Are you ready? Let's dive in.
Liat: We ended the previous episode with the rise of modern housing and buildings for the lower classes. What are we going to learn today?
Nissim: Today, we're going to talk more about the development of public housing and how these projects developed across the world.
Liat: So, it was not just in Israel or Europe, huh?
Nissim: No. The global housing crisis existed everywhere, but governments did not care about the lower class. That is the unfortunate reality. While the housing shortage was more severe in cities, rural housing solutions were not much better. In practice, it was only in the 19th century that governments began to take an interest in the housing conditions of the lower class, and even then, it was primarily for selfish reasons that benefited the rich. Poor sanitation in cities affected the wealthy, who demanded solutions and forced authorities to act. That is the progress of this world, even when the poor get something, it is only because it helps the rich or benefits them.
Ideas began to spread rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, partly due to advances in printing technology that made newspapers and books accessible to the masses. This led to the democratization of knowledge, allowing ideas to circulate on a global scale. Printing in the 16th century, which operated on a much smaller scale, cannot be compared to the industrial printing revolution that transformed how people accessed information.
At the same time, housing-related ideas spread worldwide thanks to modern transportation and tourism development. Railroads, land travel routes, and commercial ships enabled people to move and exchange knowledge and experiences. As governments were exposed to these ideas, they began developing public housing projects as a solution to the housing crisis.
The Bauhaus school in Germany was innovative, and the international style in architecture was developed. Architecture became a formal discipline in universities, and architects around the world found more solutions to build at scale.
The Bauhaus school in Germany was innovative and significantly influenced the development of the International Style in architecture. While architecture had already been a formal university discipline, Bauhaus concepts reshaped architectural education by emphasizing functionality and industrial materials. Architects around the world adopted new construction methods, enabling large-scale building solutions.
The Standardized Housing Model
The public housing projects that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century shared common features in exterior design and interior layout. These developments were rooted in modernist and International Style principles, aiming to create standardized housing units suited for universal living conditions.
The difference was mainly due to regional characteristics such as soil type, available materials, and local construction traditions. These factors influenced architectural styles, building techniques, and the overall durability of structures in different parts of the world.
However, this one-size-fits-all approach was a significant point of disagreement. Mass housing projects often ignored local culture, climate, and social diversity, leading to continued debates about their effectiveness.
The most distinctive characteristic of public housing is repetition. Identical apartments are stacked in uniform buildings and arranged in large-scale complexes. While this repetition reduced costs and accelerated construction, it also contributed to monotonous urban environments.
Some key efficiency factors included:
Standardized planning, which saved time and resources.
Prefabricated construction methods, which reduced costs.
Industrialized building techniques, which enabled rapid assembly.
Most housing blocks were designed with long rows of identical apartments that shared walls to maximize efficiency. In many cases, stairwells were placed between mirrored apartment units.
Post-World War II Public Housing
After World War II, the urgent need for government-led housing initiatives resurfaced due to widespread destruction. The baby boom further intensified housing demand. As a result, in the 1950s, governments worldwide initiated large-scale public housing projects, particularly in urban suburbs.
Housing developments expanded rapidly and were influenced by brutalism and advances in prefabricated concrete construction.
Influenced by brutalism and advances in prefabricated concrete construction, housing developments expanded rapidly. This trend was pronounced in the Soviet Union, Poland, and East Germany, where massive residential blocks were built in accordance with communist urban planning ideals.
Liat: Brutalism, huh?
Nissim: In a way, it was. When you need to supply housing urgently for high demand, there is a cost. The price that the residents of these projects paid was social and cultural more than anything else. We will focus on these prices in the coming episodes, especially with what happened in Israel.
Liat: I can't wait.
Nissim: Let's call it a day. Are you hungry?
Liat: I'm always hungry.
Nissim: I can see that on your Instagram stories. You post a lot!
Liat: I document everything I eat, which is a huge responsibility. Thank you for liking every single story I post.
Nissim: Are you kidding? I love looking at the pictures you post. I want to eat everything on the plates in the photos. I wish I could smell and taste it.
Liat: You remind me of my favorite quote: "I won't be impressed with technology until I can download food."
Nissim: I love that!
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In this journey, I weave together episodes from my life with the rich tapestry of Israeli culture through music, food, arts, entrepreneurship, fiction and more. I write over the weekends and evenings and publish these episodes as they unfold, almost like a live performance.
Each episode is part of a set focused on a specific topic, though sometimes I release standalone episodes. A set is released over several days to make it easier for you to read during your busy workday. If one episode catches your attention, make sure to read the entire set to get the whole picture. Although these episodes are released in sets, you can read the entire newsletter from the beginning, as it flows smoothly, like music to your ears  -  or, in this case, your eyes.