Typical series of residential buildings - types of houses of mass series, built in the cities of the USSR and in some countries of the Warsaw Pact, and which are the basis of the architectural appearance of many residential areas of these cities. According to the construction technology, serial houses are divided into panel, block and brick.
- Story
1.1 USSR
Story
Due to political, ideological and demographic reasons, the period of Khrushchev's "thaw" was the first in the history of the Soviet planned economy when, along with the development of heavy industry, a significant increase in the production of consumer goods and everything, one way or another related to the needs of people, was assumed, and not the military-industrial complex and resource-consuming raw industries.
The thrown slogan "Catch up and overtake America (in production ...)" indirectly testified to the recognition by the Soviet leadership of the lag in the level of economic development from the most developed countries (although in official propaganda they continued to be considered "decaying" and doomed economic formation). The gap concerned the quality of food (capita consumption essential products, primarily meat), housing conditions, the ability to purchase certain durable goods (household appliances, etc.), transport mobility (the level of motorization, the development of rail and air transportation), etc.
USSR
Since the early 1960s housing construction in the USSR was based on industrial housing construction - the construction of microdistricts from 5- and 9-story serial panel houses. This reduced the cost of construction and made it possible to increase the commissioning of housing, and also made it much more comfortable than communal apartments, already because from now on, each apartment was designed based on the settlement of one family, and not several. Simultaneously with the construction of large-panel houses, serial houses from “blocks” began to appear - the same panels, but not in the entire wall.
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In the USSR, cinder-block "stalinkas" became the harbingers of the coming mass construction based on industrial blocks and panels. The architecture of these buildings is utilitarian, there are no decorations, unplastered sand-lime bricks for the outer walls, almost flat facades with standard stucco decoration. The first in the USSR four-story frame- panel house built in 1948 in Moscow on the 5th st. Falcon Mountain (G. Kuznetsov, B. Smirnov). Currently, its address is Budyonny Avenue, 43. At that time, the country's leadership set the builders the task of creating the cheapest project for a residential building with the possibility of family settlement (that is, with separate, not communal apartments). The first step in this task was the introduction of the idea of industrial panel housing construction with a load-bearing frame. In 1948-1951, M. V. Posokhin, A. A. Mndoyants and V. P. Lagutenko built up a quarter in Moscow (Kuusinen and Sorge streets) with 10-story frame-panel houses. In the same year, a project for a frameless panel house was developed (under construction since 1950 in Magnitogorsk). In 1954 in Moscow on the 6th st. October field a 7-storey frameless panel house was built (G. Kuznetsov, B. Smirnov, L. Wrangel, Z. Nesterova, N. A. Osterman). Khrushchevs, which were designed since the late 1940s, went into series after the historic 1955 decree “On the elimination of excesses in design and construction” (“the outwardly ostentatious side of architecture, replete with great excesses”, characteristic of the Stalin era, now “does not correspond to the line of the Party and the Government in the architectural and construction business ... Soviet architecture should be characterized by simplicity, rigor of forms and cost-effectiveness of solutions"). The ideological and scientific substantiation of the new course was reduced to the following points:
The turning point was the resolutions "On measures for further industrialization, improving the quality and reducing the cost of construction" of 1956 and "On the Development housing construction in the USSR" in 1957. The task of the party to the builders was to develop by the autumn of 1956 projects that would dramatically reduce the cost of building housing and make it affordable for the working people. So the famous "Khrushchev" appeared. The goal of the project was that in 1980 each Soviet family would meet communism in a separate apartment. However, by the mid-1980s, only 85% of families had separate apartments: in 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev pushed back the deadlines by 15 years, putting forward the slogan "Every Soviet family - a separate apartment by the year 2000." In 1959, the XXI Congress noted the existence of the housing problem and called the development of housing construction "one of the most important tasks." It was envisaged that in 1959-1965. 2.3 times more apartments will be commissioned than in the last seven years. Moreover, the emphasis was on individual, rather than communal apartments. The prototype for the first "Khrushchev" were block buildings (Plattenbau), built in Berlin and Dresden since the 1920s. The construction of residential buildings "Khrushchev" lasted from 1959 to 1985. In 1956-1965, more than 13 thousand [source not specified 1303 days] residential buildings were built in the USSR, and almost all of them were five-story buildings. This allowed the annual introduction of 110 million square meters housing. An appropriate production base and infrastructure was created: house-building plants, reinforced concrete factories, etc. The first house-building plants were created in 1959 in the Glavleningradstroy system, in 1962 they were organized in Moscow and other cities. In particular, during the period 1966-1970 in Leningrad, 942 thousand people received living space, with 809 thousand moved into new houses and 133 thousand received space in old houses. Since 1960, the construction of residential 9-storey panel houses has been underway, since 1963 - 12-storey houses. |
Block buildings under construction
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Technology
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Components of a panel house, which are large reinforced concrete slabs that are manufactured in factories. In the factory, reinforced concrete products are manufactured according to existing GOSTs, so it is assumed that their quality should differ in positive side from products made directly on the construction site. But in reality, some factories do not follow the proper technology. The construction of a panel house resembles the assembly of a children's design kit. Ready-made parts of the structure are delivered to the construction site, which the builders only have to mount. As a result, labor productivity in such a building is very high. The area of the construction site is much smaller than that required for the construction of a brick house. Such long and labor-intensive processes, such as installing reinforcement or concreting, which are typical for monolithic housing construction, are completely excluded. It is precisely in this that experts see the main advantage of panel housing construction over other types of construction. The disadvantages of this type is the poor-quality assembly of the structure. A sore point are the interpanel seams, through which, if performed incorrectly, wind and water penetrate. Also, panel houses are characterized by poor sound insulation, unlike houses with wooden floors and some types of monolithic houses. |
Graffiti on one of the houses |
Seismic issues
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Under the same conditions, panel and monolithic multi-apartment and multi-story houses in the seismic zone is preferable due to design features these houses, in which almost all the walls are "bearing", and the ceilings are rigidly connected to each other. In such houses, individual elements are less flexible than in frame houses, and they work as a single structure. Houses with reinforced concrete frame and brick walls must also withstand a seismic load, but in such houses there must be reinforced concrete transverse walls (stiffening diaphragms) to make the house stable, or reinforced concrete “stiffening cores”, the role of which is played by elevator shafts and stairs. |
Creating Components |
Typical series of houses
1940s
Since 1947, the USSR Academy of Architecture has been developing a prefabricated large-panel dwelling. Frame-panel and frameless houses are being built:
4-5-storey buildings (Moscow, Leningrad, Magnitogorsk)
8-storey with panels on two floors (Moscow)
1950s
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The height of 5 floors was chosen because, according to the then norms, it was the highest number of floors at which it was allowed to build houses without an elevator (however, sometimes houses were built with 6 floors - with a store on the ground floor). Stalinki:
Since 1957, the construction of panel houses began - the so-called "Khrushchev". The people began to call them "Khrushchev" for a number of certain inconveniences:
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Brick Khrushchev series 1-447
Brick Khrushchev with a store |
1960s
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Kashtak
Panel Khrushchev series 1-515/5 in Tomsk |
1970s
In 1970, the Unified catalog of building details was adopted, on the basis of which standard projects were subsequently developed.
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Chertanovo. Airplane view  House series P-46 in Zelenograd. Floors: 14 |
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Houses in Ziepniekkalns: serial  Ships on the odd side of the street. Ushinsky in St. Petersburg (houses 17/1 and 25/1) |
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1980s
In the early 1980s, a series of KOPEs (composite space-planning elements) developed under the guidance of architect A. G. Rochegov was proposed in Moscow, designed for building “buffer zones” between new buildings and protected areas of architectural monuments and areas of mass development, as well as for "revitalization" of the existing areas. The first houses of this series were erected in 1982 near Vorontsovsky Park. The project provided for the possibility of building houses up to 22 floors. At the same time, in many districts of Moscow and other cities of the USSR, standard panel houses continued to be built.
1990s
The ruins of the demolished Khrushchev in Moscow
The territories of demolished 5-story panel houses are built up with 17-25-story residential buildings, mainly new series of panel houses. Also continuing to build panel houses of the 88-91 series, from 1995-2002 they began to build brick panel houses with beige polygonal lining triangles
2000s
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Thermal substation (CHP) and
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Construction of a panel house. Series of monolithic houses
Most often, monolithic buildings are built according to individual projects, but there are also several series of monolithic houses:
- Ear
- Unicon
- Series: III/17
Types of apartments and their characteristics
There are several classifications of apartments. Common abbreviations and their interpretation:
- Pg or "Stalinki" - Full-sized apartments are houses built before Khrushchev's housing experiments (Stalin's). They have high ceilings up to 3.5 m, large comfortable kitchens up to 15 sq.m., total area of apartments: from 110 sq.m. three-room and up to 40 sq.m. one-room. The rooms in these apartments are isolated, bathrooms are separate, large landings. Houses are 3-, 5-storey, as a rule, brick.
- Хр - Khrushchevkas are residential 4- or 5-storey buildings built during the Khrushchev housing program, when in the post-war period the country needed mass and inexpensive housing construction. Therefore, apartments of a small area were built, rather compact, as a rule, with adjacent rooms, with low ceilings, with a total area of 60 sq.m. three-room apartments, 43 sq.m. two-room and 30 sq.m. one-room apartments, with small kitchens (5-6 sq.m.), combined bathrooms and balconies in some apartments.
- Type of. or Art. - Typical or Standard layout of apartments - these are apartments of the next (after Khrushchev's time) generation: ceiling height from 2.6 m to 2.75 m, total area of apartments from 63 sq.m. three-room apartments up to 33 sq.m. one-room apartments, kitchens 6-7 sq.m., rooms in two-room apartments are isolated, in three-room apartments - adjacent-isolated, bathrooms, as a rule, are isolated, there are balconies and loggias. These are 5-, 9-storey buildings with a garbage chute and elevators. Most of these houses are built of reinforced concrete panels.
- U / P - Apartments with improved planning. As a rule, these are panel 9-storey houses with an increased area of apartments: 69 sq.m. three-room apartments, 53 sq.m. two-room and 39 sq.m. one-room apartments, the kitchen area has also been increased to 9 sq.m., all rooms are isolated, bathrooms are separate, there are balconies and loggias. The houses are equipped with elevators and garbage chutes.
- Email - "Elite" apartments, or new generation apartments. They do not have restrictions on the area, they are diverse in their layout. Most often, the future owner plans his own housing. Equipped large quantity services are underground garages, a garbage chute, both passenger and freight elevators, storerooms and a vegetable store, large staircases, convenient access roads, GYM's, saunas, etc.
- 103 series - One of the very first, built in all the republics of the USSR. The houses of this series are built of red brick and white concrete, the house is 5-storey, as a rule it does not have an elevator, but some houses have a garbage chute and 2 entrances, there are 3 apartments on each floor (2 apartments on the ground floor), on the sides 2- 3 rooms and in the middle 1-1.5 rooms, a total of 14 apartments for each entrance. There is a loggia (except for those who have 1-1.5 room apartment)
- Episode 104 - A high-rise building, distributed throughout the USSR, but there are not so many of them. The house is 16-storey, there is a passenger and freight elevator, a garbage chute. This series differs in that each apartment has a large loggia along the room and kitchen (similar to "Little Family"), and an ordinary window.
- Episode 119 - One of the first 9-storey houses. One of the later projects, along with the 602 series, there is an elevator and a garbage chute. In an apartment where there are 2 rooms or more, there are 2 balconies - one is larger, the other is smaller.
- 467 series - 9-storey building, there is both an elevator and a garbage chute. The entrance project is interesting: there are 4 apartments on each floor, there is a small room separated from the stairwell by a wall, the entrance to the floor is through the door (probably to keep the apartment doors away from the smell of the garbage chute), an elevator is installed in the room itself. There are 36 apartments in each entrance. There is a loggia.
- Series 602 is one of the latest series of projects for low-rise residential buildings (standard - 9 floors). There are 4 apartments on the floor. The project is interesting because the elevator and the garbage chute are located between the floors of the staircase. All the doors of the apartments are nearby, which in some cases creates problems for neighbors who want to enter / exit at the same time. In some old houses, the elevator is located on the very first floor, at the level of the entrance to the entrance, in newer ones, the elevator is located half a floor higher. There is a loggia.
- Malosemeyka - the houses are built according to the type of hostels. There are 5, 9, 12 storey houses. In such apartments there is a very long loggia stretching to the kitchen and the room, most of the apartments on the floor are 1-room, there are only two 2-room apartments on the floor. There is only one entrance to the house. There are a lot of apartments on the floor and they are located like a hostel. 9- and 12-storey buildings are equipped with an elevator and a garbage chute, a 5-storey building has only a garbage chute.
- Lithuanian project - (abbr. Litovka) houses, according to the name, were invented in the Lithuanian SSR, distributed mainly in the Baltic states. There are only 5, 9-storey buildings, a garbage chute and an elevator are only in high-rise buildings, there are 3.4 comparatively large apartments(at the same time, the kitchen, bathroom and corridor occupy approximately 14 sq.m. in total), there is a loggia, the kitchen is the same in all apartments - 6.5 sq.m.
Probably, there is no person who has never seen the classic Khrushchev. These houses, consisting of 4 or 5 floors, with a rather inconvenient layout and a small kitchen and bathroom. However, do not forget at what time the construction of these houses began. In the 60s it was a real happiness to get such a separate apartment.
Life time
In total, there are two types of Khrushchev - panel and brick. they were mainly erected as temporary structures and had a service life of 25 years. However, many of them are still standing today, as these houses are constantly being added to the service life.
Brick structures are stronger and more reliable; according to design data, such a house can stand for at least 50 years. At the same time, many Khrushchev houses made of bricks had their service life extended to 150 years. Therefore, in small towns of the country, such houses will stand for more than one decade, there is no plan to demolish these structures.
Short story
It is worth noting that such houses began to be built under Stalin, but in much smaller quantities. The mass construction of these structures began with the coming to power of Nikita Sergeevich, it is in his honor that these houses are called Khrushchevs.
The author of such inexpensive and small-sized houses was not at all the Chief Secretary of the Party and people close to him. The government of the USSR borrowed the idea of inexpensive houses from the Frenchman Le Corbusier, it was this man who suggested starting the construction of such small houses in France. After all, this country was almost completely destroyed after the Second World War, and there was no money to build quality houses.
This idea of the French architect in the USSR was made even more rational, so the construction of Khrushchev began throughout the country. And sometimes not only entire districts, but also entire cities were built up with such houses. 
A series of brick Khrushchev
There was enough a large number of varieties of these houses. All of them had some differences among themselves. In total there are more than 20 series of Khrushchev buildings built of brick. They were built depending on the specific region, the most popular series in the USSR are the following:
- 1-447;
- 1-464 (this house is the most popular in the territory of the former USSR);
- II-07-19;
- 1-511.
House series 1-511
To date, Khrushchevs in Moscow can be seen quite often, this series is the most common in the capital, so it is advisable to talk about it.
These five-story buildings are present in almost every district of Moscow, their construction has been carried out for 10 years. There are two options for modifications: early and late, but they differ only in a slight difference in the height of the ceiling and the quality of the bricks.
It is worth noting that, if we compare other brick Khrushchevs with 1-511, then in this series a higher quality brick was used. After all, houses were built in the capital of a great state. As for the layout, everything here is the same as in other houses: walk-through rooms, a small kitchen and a bathroom. 
Will Khrushchevs be demolished in Moscow
Almost all Khrushchev houses in the capital have series 1-511 and will not be demolished, as they are still in fairly good condition and can last for decades. There are only a few structures of this model that fall under demolition, but they are already in an emergency situation.
Regarding the question of whether the brick Khrushchevs will be demolished or not, it is quite difficult to answer unambiguously. In April 2017, the mayor of the Russian capital announced that there would be no strong ones. Only those five-story buildings that are in unsatisfactory condition are subject to demolition.
Some buildings will remain as they are at the moment, and local authorities plan to reconstruct some of the houses and add more floors. The strongest structures will become taller, it is planned to build elevator units in them. Therefore, part of the brick buildings will become modern houses, with new and higher quality apartments. Residents of the lower floors will be able to redevelop the brick Khrushchev.
Redevelopment of a two-room apartment
Almost all brick Khrushchev houses have adjoining rooms. One room is still not bad, but the second is very narrow, where even a large bed does not always fit. In the vast majority of cases, such houses are suitable for redevelopment, since there are practically no load-bearing walls in the apartment. However, before this procedure, it is imperative to consult which walls can be destroyed and which cannot. Otherwise, there may be very big problems with the construction.
Usually in Khrushchev there is a sit-down bath, since the usual one simply does not fit. Therefore, the owner of such an apartment is faced with the task of increasing the space so that it is comfortable to live here. The following photo shows a standard redevelopment of a brick Khrushchev. 
As you can see, the wall between the kitchen and the living room was demolished, which created an extra area. kitchen area while the living room is also larger and more modern. Living room with sliding doors was separated, and a small working area turned out. In the bathroom, you can put a corner bath, which will take a little less space, but at the same time it will be full-fledged, and not sedentary. As for the washing machine, it is often placed in brick Khrushchev houses under the washbasin. Or you can purchase a built-in model and mount it in the kitchen.
In the room where the bedroom is located, there is a small closet. After redevelopment, this space was enlarged, and a dressing room turned out. The bedroom itself has lost some space, but now there is no need to place a closet, and the room has become more square, rather than long and narrow. 
Conclusion
Brick Khrushchev houses in the Russian capital are being demolished, but only those that are in an emergency or unsatisfactory condition. Therefore, if you are going to buy an apartment in such a building, it should be understood that most of the five-story buildings are not planned for demolition in the near future.
According to the policy of the city authorities, Khrushchev houses, built from panels that have already served their time, are currently being massively demolished.
Khrushchevs are five-story buildings that were built during the reign of N.S. Khrushchev. Not without brick Khrushchev - a series that define the features of each house.
Such high-rise buildings are notable for the fact that they absolutely lack such household parts as an attic, a garbage chute and an elevator. Such houses were often built in areas with developed infrastructure and near transport interchanges, and the price of apartments in them is very low.
Construction period
The main construction of such houses was carried out in the period from 1959 to 1985. In Leningrad, the last brick Khrushchev building was completed in the 1970s. Then they were replaced by houses, popularly referred to as "ship houses".
In general, about 290 million square meters were built in Russia. m of total area, which is approximately 10% of the total housing stock that the country has. Such extensive construction has become a mainstay of urban trends, as well as significantly improving the living conditions of many people.
Main parameters of houses
The main parameters of Khrushchev:
- Such high-rise buildings mainly contain one- and two-room apartments;
- The ceiling in each apartment has a height of 2.48 m;
Note!
This cannot be boasted by apartments in brick houses starting from the second floor.
After all, their height is reduced by 0.2 m.
- It also contains apartments with a combined or separate bathroom, very unreliable soundproofing of the walls and the absence of an elevator.
Bearable and unbearable
Unbearable Series
The buildings belonging to the first series were a temporary solution to the problem of housing shortages. Their operation was not supposed to last more than 25 years.
Note!
As practice shows, many of them are still inhabited by guests.
Houses of non-demolished series have an estimated resource of 50 years. However, studies of such structures carried out a little later showed that their resource can increase up to 150 years if major repairs are carried out in the house in a timely manner.
Series and types
There are several series of houses from the time of Khrushchev, according to which a brick five-story building was built: series I-528, II-28, I-513, I-511, II-34, II-14, II-20, Mm1-3.
| Series | number of storeys | Years of construction |
| 1-528 | 3-5 | 1957-1970s |
| 1-511 | 5 | 1950-1960 |
| II-14 | 4-6 | 1957-1960s |
| II-34 | 5 | 1958-1973 |
| 1-513 | 5 | 1957-1960s |
| II-20 | 9 | 1960-1965 |
| mm1-3 | 4-5 | 1956-1959 |
Table of series of brick Khrushchev houses and years of their construction
I-528 series houses
It is believed that the houses of the I-528 series are of the highest quality:
- in such;
- they were also built using high-quality parquet, paneled doors and well-fitted window frames;
- the same houses have ceilings greater than usual, height -2.7 meters;
- however, from their small living space and characteristic layout, their origin can still be easily determined.
liquid housing
Often, many series of brick houses of 5 floors were built by entire microdistricts. Often such houses were built at once on several pieces on the street.
Since then, the courtyards with similar houses have been greatly transformed: tall trees and various shrubs have grown in them.
Interior
In Khrushchev's apartments of a small area it is very interesting to carry out even the most original design ideas, the main idea of which is to give a limited area as much functionality as possible:
- some people carry out redevelopment of the kitchen, combining it with the next room;
- someone demolishes the pantry, thereby making the bedroom a little larger;
- someone demolishes absolutely all the partitions inside the apartment with their own hands, turning it into a studio apartment;
- also sometimes two apartments are bought at once on two floors of one riser and a single two-level apartment is made.
Thus, according to many residents, "Khrushchev" are comfortable housing.
Project Features
The first projects of Khrushchev-era houses contained references to tiled or slate roofs, but already differed in their characteristic layout. However, in those days there was a widespread campaign to combat architectural excesses.
The unspoken instruction followed by the party workers contained the statement to reduce the cost of building such a house as much as possible. Therefore, all the following projects of such five-story buildings already differed in much cheaper flat bituminous roofs.
For the same reason, any stucco elements or other options decorative finishes, characteristic of Stalinist high-rise buildings, were rejected by the Khrushchev projects.
Khrushchev refrigerator
Entering the kitchen in the apartment of a brick Khrushchev house, you can find a built-in wardrobe under the window. It is intended for food storage.
Because the thickness outer wall in such a cabinet is only half a brick, and sometimes this wall also contains an eternally open hole; in winter, such a cabinet can be used as a refrigerator.
The apartments themselves in Khrushchev in the winter are characterized by a rather low temperature due to poor thermal insulation of the walls. Therefore, such houses are also popularly called “Khrushchev refrigerators”.
Conclusion
We talked about Khrushchev, built of brick. We hope that our information and recommendations will be useful for you and you will be able to choose the right option for an apartment. In the presented video in this article you will find Additional information on this topic.
In 1985, only about thirty-five years ago, the construction of 4, 5-storey panel, sometimes brick houses, popularly nicknamed "Khrushchevs", was stopped. The construction of these houses began during the reign of N. S. Khrushchev with a resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers of the USSR, "On the development of housing construction in the USSR."
Masha Kirikova. Khrushchev
Prerequisites for construction
In the first decades of Soviet power, new houses were practically not built, cities were overpopulated, population growth was disproportionate to the growth of new housing. As a result of the mass exodus of peasants to the cities and recruitment by the limit, fast growth the urban population, which for more than 30 years overtook the growth of new housing: in 1956, 48.4% lived in cities. According to the 1939 census, the urban population reached 56.1 million people, and by April 1956 it had reached 87 million people. The number of Moscow residents jumped from 2 to 3.6 million, in Leningrad it grew almost as sharply. As a result, from year to year, the average actual norm of living space per person has been declining. In Moscow in 1930 the average standard of living space was 5.5 square meters, and in 1940 it dropped to almost 4 square meters. The housing issue was resolved by resettling and consolidating people in confiscated apartments, building housing of a “lightweight” type, i.e. barracks or dugouts. The distribution of communal apartments solved the issue of economy: one bathroom, stove, water tap for ten to fifteen families.
Well-appointed apartments with all conveniences were received by specialists, nomenklatura workers. Such housing was built on the site of dilapidated houses, whose inhabitants, if they could not get a room in new houses, were moved outside the city to barracks.
People live in barracks like this.
As a rule, such housing was built as a temporary one. Although many barracks have been preserved, houses without basic amenities, in which they live to this day.
Capital houses were built too little due to their high cost, and the construction of barracks was limited by the decree of the Council of People's Commissars (Council of People's Commissars) of the USSR in 1934 "On improving housing construction", which led to a decrease in the total volume of construction. In addition, the war destroyed about 70 million square meters of housing. Thus, there was a housing crisis that needed to be addressed. The question of cheap and affordable housing for the Soviet people arose sharply. In this sense, the construction of five-story buildings was a way out of the current situation.
The beginning of "Khrushchev"
N.S. Khrushchev took up the solution of the housing problem. From his trips abroad, he brought back the idea of building cheap social housing. As early as the 18th century, Americans began building frame houses for settlers. Such houses were easy and quick to assemble. In Europe, the construction of prefabricated houses began to be practiced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1925, it became more widespread in Germany when the Plattenbau system for building houses from prefabricated elements was developed.
Khrushchev combines the idea of a German plattenbau with American assembly line construction. Panel five-story buildings designed by Soviet architects reduced the cost of building new housing by 30% due to the rejection of architectural surpluses.
Suburb of Gothenburg
It was after the First World War that the ideas of architectural minimalism and functionality appeared. In 1924, according to the project of Corbusier, a town was erected near Bordeaux, consisting of two to three-story houses. This was the first experience of serial panel construction. After the Second World War in Europe, they began to build entire residential complexes from monotonous standard houses.
At the direction of Khrushchev, a mechanized line for the production of panels was purchased in France; studied the American experience of standard construction. It turned out that houses can be assembled from blocks brought directly from the factory in record time, while finishing work is also carried out in parallel. After some time, the first five-story buildings were erected from ready-made blocks around the village of Cheryomushki near Moscow. Then the experience of Cheryomushkino construction rapidly spread throughout the country. No wonder that a Soviet citizen, arriving in any city in his native country, and even in foreign countries(who, of course, had such an opportunity), felt quite at home (see photo below)
Typical "Khrushchev" in the USSR
The construction of "Khrushchev" continued from 1956 to 1985. Although in Leningrad it was completed in the 1970s, they switched to the construction of "house-ships". For the period from 1959 to 1985. more than 290 million square meters were built in the country, which amounted to approximately 10% of the current housing stock.
Around the same time, such a unit of the urban structure as a microdistrict appeared. This is a collection of residential buildings, clinics, schools, kindergartens, located within walking distance. This idea has become quite productive and remains relevant today in the construction of residential complexes.
During the construction of houses and neighborhoods, certain hygiene standards had to be observed: at least 9 sq.m. per person, proximity (200-400 m) to schools, gardens, social and consumer services, illumination of apartments due to compliance with the maximum allowable distance between houses.
"Khrushchev" with their advantages and disadvantages
At one time, the construction of new panel houses was considered a breakthrough, as it was able to provide housing for many families, resettle communal apartments and barracks. Despite the fact that these houses are not loved for dullness and ugliness, they provoked a leap in the development of industry. Factories and factories for the production of panels and ceilings were built. Neighborhoods grew like mushrooms after the rain, thanks to the construction technology. The structures were transported directly from the factory, assembled and finished on the construction site. Houses were assembled like a bookcase, teams worked in three shifts, labor productivity increased. A typical five-story building was assembled in 12 days, finishing took 30 days. The construction of the house lasted no less than about 50 days.
The Cultural Capital always tried to go its own way, and a few months later, in May 1955, in the Nevsky district of Leningrad, on Polyarnikov Street, No. 10, its frameless 30-apartment panel house appeared (the authors of the project were architect Alexander Vasilyev and engineer Kaplunov). The assembly of the building took 79 days, taking into account finishing works- 102 days. The layouts of the apartments in this house do not look like the well-known "Khrushchev" - they rather resemble the "Stalinist" houses. Most spacious rooms are isolated; huge windows - two in each, very high ceilings (3.5 m), a large kitchen even by today's standards (12-14 sq.m), toilet and bathroom are separated, and even the entrance doors to each apartment are made of oak. The technology was developed and ready for mass construction, but Khrushchev considered the project too expensive. The Leningrad authorities at one time considered the experiment successful, and in the Nevsky district, the construction of the first large-panel blocks of standard housing in the USSR was already in full swing.
Different series of Khrushchev houses were designed, which had largely similar features, only slightly differing.
General characteristics are laid down in SNiPs of 1957. According to these standards, the apartment must have a pantry or built-in closet (rather spacious), a bedroom (6 sq.m. for one person, 8 sq.m. for two), a common room (at least 14 sq.m.), which could be a checkpoint and lead, including to the kitchen.
Living space one-room apartment should have been 16 sq.m., two-room - 22 sq.m., three-room - 30 sq.m., four-room - 40 sq.m.
In order to reduce the cost of construction, it was decided to "cut" everything that was possible. The houses were built on five floors, which made it possible to reduce the thickness of the load-bearing walls. They refused the elevator, a person can completely climb to the fifth floor without harm to health; they removed the attic and the garbage chute, narrowed the flights of stairs, reduced the height of the ceilings. People joked that Khrushchev connected the toilet to the bathroom, but did not have time to connect the ceiling to the floor. In some projects there were no balconies. Kitchens were designed miniature from 5 to 7 sq.m., residents had to dine in turn - such apartments were occupied on the basis of “the number of people in the family minus one”; small hallways, a toilet combined with a bathroom (often a seated bath was placed), walk-through rooms. There is an opinion that such rooms were created in order to prevent the settlement of several families and the reconstruction of new communal apartments.
Quite unusual was the construction in the kitchen of the so-called refrigerator cabinets for storing food in the winter season. The wall of such a cabinet outside was half a brick thick, and in winter frost often formed near it (see photo below).
The material (claydite concrete, aerated concrete) used in the construction could not provide either good sound insulation or sufficient heat in the apartments. In addition, the building materials from which the houses of the GI series were assembled contained a significant content of asbestos, which is unsafe for human health. The partitions in the rooms are so thin that it was impossible to hang heavy bookshelves or kitchen cabinets.
The tightness of the apartments - "Khrushchev" was more than compensated by quite spacious courtyards, often densely planted with greenery.
For a Soviet person, tired of the cramped barracks and dugouts, these meters became happiness and an opportunity to arrange personal life without prying eyes.
During the years of Nikita Khrushchev's leadership, over 13 thousand residential buildings were built in the USSR, and almost all of them were five-story buildings; housewarming in "Khrushchev" was celebrated by about 54 million of our compatriots. Today they contain 5.8 million apartments. In Leningrad, about 10 million square meters were built in the "Khrushchev decade". housing. In St. Petersburg, there are about 2,400 houses of the “old panel”, as realtors usually call the five-story buildings of the early series. More than 600 thousand Petersburgers live in these houses today.
The future of Khrushchev. renovation
Even Khrushchev began to worry about the fate of houses under construction. Housing, although it was built in the shortest possible time, but all this was done in a Stakhanovite haste, which rather harmed the quality, and the overspending of the city budget was 20%.
Khrushchev proposed to build houses with four to five floors, to mount an elevator.
Initially, the "Khrushchev" were built on the basis of a service life of 25 years, as temporary housing, which will be gradually replaced by a more convenient and comfortable one. But, as they say, there is nothing more permanent than temporary. The present research suggests that with appropriate overhaul and operation of such houses can last another hundred years.
Gradually, the requirements for the quality of design increased. The first Khrushchev series were replaced in the late 1960s. new series of nine-story buildings. During the second period of industrial housing construction (second half of the 60s - first half of the 70s), the industry switched to new standards: the number of storeys of residential buildings increased, the comfort of apartments improved, standard designs of large-panel buildings 9, 12 and 16 floors high were developed. They were more comfortable planning decisions, floor height up to 2.8 m, new engineering and technical life support systems.
But, unfortunately, the basis remained the same - the panels let in a large amount of heat, since they were single-layered. Quite a primitive layout of apartments and common areas. You got from the street directly to the stairwell, there was no vestibule. The roof gave a lot of leaks and freezing. Today, all these 9- and 12-storey buildings are subject to major repairs.
But today, "Khrushchev" buildings are very outdated both morally and physically, often becoming simply dangerous for residents. The deterioration of these buildings requires their reconstruction. To solve this problem, resettlement and demolition of houses are being carried out, on the site of which new ones will be built. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, entire programs for the renovation of Khrushchev houses have already been put into operation. In St. Petersburg, the SPb Renovation company entered into an agreement with the city until March 2019 for the construction of at least 7.2 million sq.m. housing, of which 35% will be provided for the resettlement of "Khrushchev".
The company "SPb-Renovation" said that the experience of Moscow was used in the preparation of the project. They also studied the experience of Europe, where in the post-war period, due to the rapid growth of the population in cities, there was an intensive construction of houses of mass series. In France and Germany, renovation began more than 30 years ago. At the present stage in Western Europe, low-rise panel construction is most common. The share of panel houses in the housing stock of Great Britain, Finland, and the USA is about 20-40%. Their popularity is primarily due to their cost-effectiveness, and in addition to the low volume of waste polluting environment. Therefore, outstanding architectural bureaus from Sweden, France, UK. After all, we are talking exclusively about the integrated development of territories and all the nuances must be taken into account: from the replacement of all engineering communications to the creation of a harmonious and comfortable living environment in the quarters for hundreds of thousands of citizens.
Germany. Sanitized five-story building, the prototype of our "Khrushchev"
In Germany, for example, prefabricated houses are dismantled, the panels are crushed and used to build roads. With compacted development, two out of five houses are demolished, and the territory is landscaped.
In Moscow, the resettlement process began earlier than in St. Petersburg, it has been going on for more than 15 years and is much more intensive, since, according to experts, the K-7 series was adopted in the capital, the houses of which were distinguished by low strength; The service life of these houses is 20-25 years.
In St. Petersburg, an attempt was also made to rehabilitate old housing: the buildings were insulated, modern risers and double-glazed windows were installed. But according to experts, refurbishment of the old "Khrushchev" costs 25 million rubles, which is more expensive than the construction of new housing. Therefore, we decided that this is not an option for mass renovation.
According to renovation projects, reconstruction is carried out in a fan-shaped way: new housing is being built, residents are moving from old houses to new ones, old housing is being demolished, and new housing is being built in its place. Now in St. Petersburg it is planned to demolish "Khrushchev" with a total area of 500 thousand square meters, where it is also planned to build, in addition to new buildings, covered parking lots and open parking lots.
In the regions, modernization is slower than in the capitals, the demand for "Khrushchev" remains, and residents are trying to independently solve the problem of reconstruction and improvement of living conditions, by demolishing partitions, visual expansion space.
"Khrushchev" once helped thousands of families get out of communal apartments and barracks.
They are quite cheap and affordable housing, they serve as a launching pad for many families, as well as visitors, for the further acquisition of more comfortable and convenient housing. According to some experts, renovation projects will provide new housing of almost business class, the footage will be larger, but the price will also be higher. That is, visitors, and the townspeople, will not be left with a launch pad. In today's economic situation, cheap housing is a must. We have 10% lower level housing. In the process of renovation, it will not be, which in turn will affect real estate prices.
Most likely prices will go up. How much, it's hard to say right now.